All Tomorrow's Parties
by makesmyheadspin
Summary: Bill is summoned away and Eric take the opportunity to recruit Sookie to help him hire a new employee, but their newly formed blood bond gets the better of them both. Things only get crazier when Sookie is required to attend an important vampire function.
1. Lay Me Down

**Title:** Lay Me Down  
**Fandom:** True Blood  
**Spoilers:** Canon thru episode 2.11 of True Blood.  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own any rights to this series. The rights solely belong to Charlaine Harris and Alan Ball.  
**Summary:** While Bill is on assignment from the Queen of Louisiana, Eric comes to Sookie looking for help in hiring a replacement for one of his human employees. When it turns out one of the candidates could have deadly plans for Eric and the other vampires of Shreveport, Eric and Sookie work together to put a stop to it, unaware that their blood bond is about to get the better of them both.

* * *

"How long will you be gone?" Sookie asked as Bill finished packing.

"Until the Queen releases me." Bill said without looking up.

"So what does that mean? You could be gone forever?" When your boyfriend is a vampire, forever takes on a whole new meaning. Sookie was learning this the hard way.

Vampires found very little meaning in time. Eternity stretched before them where the sun once was. Time only mattered only from sunrise to sunset, and only then in a very minor way. The most important thing was having a light-tight place to rest.

"I will return to you as soon as I am able." Bill promised her, but it didn't give her much to go on. The last time he left like this he came back with a newly turned vampire to raise. Jessica was a sweet girl, all things considered, but it had come as a shock to Sookie.

Sookie sighed and reminded herself that this was part of the price she paid for being involved with Bill. There would always be vampire business, or politics, that Bill would have to put ahead of his human girlfriend, even if she was recognized as a valuable friend to vampires. But that didn't mean Bill wanted to leave. In fact, he had attempted to negotiate with Sophie Ann. Unfortunately, whatever she needed him for could not wait, and Bill was in no position to refuse her request.

"I have arranged to have my mail held at the post office, but I do have an appointment with a contractor on Tuesday. He's coming out to check the foundation of the house. I would appreciate it if you could meet with him." Bill asked her.

"Of course." Sookie nodded.

"He will be here at 6:30. Whatever needs to be done, should be done. Money is not an issue. I have already told Floyd that he will be meeting you." Bill was all business, which didn't sooth Sookie one bit. He seemed flustered which only made Sookie more nervous. "I will return to you, Sookie. You have my word." Bill stopped packing and fidgeting long enough to hug her.

He smoothed back her thick blond waves and kissed her gently. He loved that no matter the weather, her lips were always warm. It was a lovely contrast to his own. Even though he didn't need to inhale to smell her, he did so anyway. It made him feel a little more human, and it comforted Sookie to feel his chest rise and fall against her own. Her grasp tightened around him, and she kissed his neck.

Being away from her would be more difficult for him than it would be for a human boyfriend. Restraining himself from having sex with another woman would be the easiest part, relatively speaking, but even that was a challenge due to the very nature of a vampire. But he had sworn to Sookie that he would **not** feed from any other human. He had made that promise for many reasons, many of which he didn't even bother to share with Sookie. In the end, feeding and sex were dangerously intertwined, and he worried that if he fed from someone else, he would not be able to stop himself from having sex with that person. So, for the time being, he would be feeding on A Positive (Sookie's blood type) synthetic blood.

"I love you, Bill." Sookie breathed into his ear, the smell of sunshine and Pantene feeling his body.

"I love you too, Sookie." He kissed her again, and more passionately, with the intention of savoring it. He had no way of knowing how long it would be before he saw her again.

A cab honked its horn outside, and Bill reluctantly pulled away. Sookie watched the blur of motion as Bill picked up his bags and zoomed down the front steps. She went out to the landing outside his bedroom and said, "Be safe, Bill."

"I promise." He smiled up at her from the front door, and then he was gone.

* * *

Floyd Chapman was a nice guy. He was a supporter of the Vampire Rights Movement, which got him a lot of business with the vampire community. His own daughter, Heather, was dating a 600 year old vampire from Spain by the name of Paulo. From what Sookie could pull from Floyd's brain, Paulo had been turned while on a boat from Spain to England. Sookie tried to remember if she'd ever seen Paulo at Fangtasia, but there were so many vampires there it was hard to get to know them all. Especially with Bill draped over her to let other potential "suitors" know that she as already spoken for.

In the end it turned out that Bill's house was in need of a lot of work, and the sooner the better. Sookie told Floyd that he should do whatever needed to be done to stabilize the house. "Just please try to keep the integrity of the original house. It means a lot to Bill." Sookie instructed.

"Don't worry, Miss Stackhouse, Bill and I already discussed all of that. I'll get a crew together, and we'll get started on Friday." Floyd shook her hand, and that was when she found out that his vampire clients got work done for next to nothing because he gauged his human clients.

Sookie found the practice slightly deplorable, but if they wanted to, vampires could glamour him into doing the work for free. But the vampires enjoyed that Floyd was essentially robbing the humans to cover his losses on jobs he did for vampires. Sookie went back into Bill's big old house to turn off the lights so she could lock up and go home. She was coming down from the second floor of the house when there was a knock at the front door. She put a little pep in her step, thinking there might be some work order she had to sign that Floyd had forgotten about.

"Sookie Stackhouse." Eric smiled at her when she opened the door.

"Bill isn't here." The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"He isn't?" Eric looked innocent and confused, and he was fooling no one.

"As if you didn't know that already." Sookie looked bored. This was getting old.

"Pity how Bill keeps leaving you." Eric clicked his tongue.

"It's not by choice, but I suppose you know that too." Sookie kept herself half hidden behind the heavy wooden door.

One of the modifications Bill wanted was to have the double doors reinforced with steel. A vampire could easily break through wood if any of them ever decided they wanted to come into his house without permission. But a vampire of Eric's age and strength could get through steel if he wanted to.

"What are you doing here Eric?" Sookie asked, assuming he had come with a purpose.

"I'm actually here to see you." His face was expressionless.

Sookie snickered. "Bill might be out of town, but I'm still his."

"I figured as much, although what you see in him-" He said with disapproval.

"That's not really any of your business." Sookie said pointedly.

"Why do you deny me, Sookie? I know it is not because I am a vampire." Eric looked curious now. "Not that I need it, but you could invite me in."

Sookie laughed. "I think I'll pass. I deny you because I love Bill."

"Is that all that stands in the way?" A light seemed to go on in Eric's eyes, and it scared Sookie.

"You are cold. You lack compassion for anyone, or anything. You find no value in humans beyond your next meal, which I find both appalling and hypocritical. You view me as a conquest, and nothing more. I am the first human you have met in centuries that you couldn't glamour into giving you what you want. You do not see me as your equal. I find your arrogance to be repulsive." Sookie told him.

"When you have lived as long as I have, you learn not to form attachments. Life changes far too quickly to let your emotions dictate your actions." There again was that arrogance.

"Then why did you throw yourself on me in Dallas? Why risk your life to save mine?" Sookie stared at him. Had it been an option, he would have glamoured her right then and there, she was sure of it.

"Because contrary to what you think, I **do** find value in you Sookie. I find you to be more valuable than you know, and certainly more than Bill does."

"You don't know that." Sookie snickered with frustration.

"Perhaps, but I know one thing for sure; if you were mine, you would never be lonely like you are right now. Bill has made you many promises, little girl, but they are pie crust promises. They are just as easily made as they are broken." Eric leaned on the door.

"If this is your idea of sweet talk, you better think again." Sookie tried to speak with confidence, but she worried that Eric might be right. "If you have nothing else to discuss, I would very much like to lock up and go home."

"I'll go with you." Eric smiled.

"Oh no you won't. You'll go back to Shreveport where you belong, and we will **both** forget that this conversation ever took place." Sookie said sternly.

"As you wish, my pet." He smiled at her once more, and then disappeared.

* * *

Six weeks later, there was still no word from Bill. Sookie went about her life as normally as possible. She worked her shifts at Merlotte's. She babysat Arlene's kids a couple of times. Jason came over every couple of days for whatever meal Sookie could have with him that day. With her blood count back up, and that little bit of Eric's blood still in her system, she felt healthier than she had in a while. Everything, except for Bill, was going just great. So of course, Eric showed up to change all of that.

He came on business one Thursday evening shortly after sundown. It was Sookie's night off, and she was home watching The Grapes of Wrath on TCM when there was a knock at her front door. She focused her brain in effort of figuring out who was at her door, but she got nothing. Whoever was at her door was a Supe.

She got off the couch and looked through the curtains to see Eric waiting for her. She sighed heavily, and opened the door. "What?" She asked.

"Maybe I come in?"

"No." Sookie said without hesitation.

"I have business to discuss, and I would rather not discuss it on your porch." Eric spoke in a cool tone, his accent finding a way to Sookie's spine. It wasn't until she met Eric that she bothered to consider an accent to be sexy. Eric picked up on this through the Bond, and he was amused, though he did not show it. "You can withdraw your invitation any time, Sookie." He reminded her.

"I know that." She spat back. She glared at him, considering her options. She heard Bill's voice in the back of her head reminding her that Eric would not stop until he got his way. It was best to just let him in and listen to what he had to say. She sighed heavily and then said, "Please come in." Sookie stepped back.

Eric was dressed about casually in tailored black pants and a cashmere sweater the color of ashes. His hair was slicked back, except for a few blond locks that could not keep away from his forehead. The fringes obstructed her view of his eyes. She wondered if his eyes had always been so hypnotic, or if that was another attribute he'd picked up after he was turned. But then there was a lot of things Sookie was curious about. That damn blood bond was causing as much trouble as it could. And the worst of it was, Eric could always feel her now the same way Bill did. It was a total nightmare.

"Your home is...charming." Eric said as he turned in a slow circle.

"It was my Gran's. It has been in my family for generations. In fact, Bill knew my relatives who lived here during The War." Sookie mentally told herself to shut up.

Eric wasn't at all interested in hearing about that, she could tell. "So, where does Sookie rest?" Eric smiled at her.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours." Sookie couldn't resist, although she knew it wasn't wise to sass a vampire.

Vampires are notoriously secretive about their resting place. They may invite you into their home, but they must be able to trust you completely before they will tell you something like that, and vampires do not trust easily. The slightest hint of betrayal or disloyalty could have dire consequences. But as Eric well knew, Sookie was a vault of secrets. Had he been able to glamour her, there would be a gold mine of information he could use for the purposes of black mail or extortion.

"Don't make promises you cannot keep." Eric's eyes were full of lust.

They stared at one another for a minute, and Sookie felt herself starting to slip away. She cleared her throat and asked, "What did you come here for, Eric?"

Eric was just inches from her in an instant. His thick eyebrows danced, and his smile became seductive. He looked her up and down, and Sookie felt her breath catch in her throat. Since there was one answer that was a little too obvious, he let her go. Besides, the Bond told him Sookie not only got the message, but was a little curious about what it would be like.

"Do you remember our accountant?" He returned to All-Business-Eric. "You met him the night Long Shadow was-"

"I remember." Sookie cut him off. "He was having some issues with anxiety." _To put it nicely_, Sookie thought.

"Well, he finally cracked and went over the edge. I can no longer keep him on my staff. But I will need your assistance in finding his replacement." Eric explained.

"Me? Eric, I don't know anything about accountants."

"You do not need to. What I need is a screener." He told her.

"So get Ginger to do it." Before the words even left her mouth, she knew they were ridiculous.

Eric burst out laughing, and a second later Sookie joined in. It took a few seconds for Eric to regain his composure. "Ginger is a very loyal employee, but she's got about as much sense as a fence post." This much was actually true.

Sookie found that she liked the way Eric laughed when it wasn't contrived or forced. "You're right about that." She agreed. "Still, I don't know what you expect from me."

"Humans are deceptive. They lie their way into positions they aren't qualified for because they have their own intentions and agendas." Eric's arrogance was once again on full display.

Once again, Sookie snickered at him and said, "I have been around enough vampires to know they are no better than humans in that capacity."

"That is true in some cases, but my kind does it for survival." Eric argued.

"Survival doesn't require thousand dollar suits and expensive foreign cars." Sookie said smugly. She wasn't afraid of going toe to toe with Eric, and it was kind of nice not having Bill around to reign her in.

This back and forth banter went on for a while, and the longer it went, the more charged it became. By the time Sookie was ready to pull the plug she felt breathless and hot. Eric looked at her with an obvious hunger. His eyes had been trained on the arteries in her neck for the last minute or so, but she wasn't at all scared. His eyes met hers, and they locked in a silent stare. His fangs had lowered, and he growled at her. She knew what that meant. It was similar to the sound Bill made when he wanted to- "Sookie?" He breathed in her ear. He was so close, and basking in the warmth of her body heat.

It was like being in the sunshine again. No wonder Bill found her so delicious. He wondered if he would be able to taste the sunlight, and the thought only made him growl again. Sookie looked up at him, drinking in his heavy stare. She reached up and touched his fangs with the tips of her fingers the way she had done in one of her dreams on the way back from Dallas. She was teasing him, and doing one hell of a job of it. And to make it all the more intense, she didn't take her eyes from his while she did it.

"Do you need me, Eric, do you do just want me?" Sookie's fingers rested on his bottom lip. In response, his body pressed against hers, knocking her back against the wall. His answer was poking her in the hip. She smiled at him and took her hand back. "I'll help you. But only because we made a deal. I'm off on Sunday. I can be at Fangtasia anytime you want."

"Sundown." Eric could barely speak.

"I'll be there." Sookie backed away. "Your invitation is rescinded."

"Nicely played." Eric straightened himself up and retracted his fangs before walking out of her house. "I will see you Sunday, Sookie."

* * *

For the next three nights Sookie had intensely sexual dreams of Eric. She found herself thinking of him more and more and Bill less and less. Sunday marked the seventh week since Bill's departure. She missed him, but she found that it was easier not to think about it too much. She still had no idea when he might return. Part of her worried that she was walking into a trap, and as she drove to Shreveport. She could hear Bill in her mind, telling her she had made a horrible mistake in agreeing to help Eric without having a vampire attendant there to make sure she was safe.

Although, Sookie couldn't think of a single reason why Eric would want her dead. At least not before having his way with her. It was as she was pulling into the parking lot at Fangtasia that she remembered Eric was the kind of man who almost always got his way. But equally as true, Sookie was a fighter, and not about to give in because it was what anyone wanted, **or** expected, from her. **If** she gave in it would be on her own terms. Though she could admit that the dreams she'd been having, coupled with Bill's prolonged absence, were making it harder to resist Eric.

It was just after sundown, and there were already a dozen cars in the lot, all of them nicer than Sookie's car. The car closest to the door, sleek and black, was Eric's. She stepped out of her car and smoothed out her dress. It was white with little yellow polk-a-dots all over it. She wore three inch white heels that made her tan legs look much longer than they were, and a soft white cardigan that stretched over her shoulders. Her Gran's cross hung around her neck, and her hair was left hanging in thick waves of gold.

Pam greeted her at the door. "You look like a cupcake." Pam smiled at her with icy eyes. "Eric is waiting for you in the bar."

"Thank you." Sookie stepped inside the service hallway.

Pam watched her walk down the hall. Eric's office was to Sookie's left, while a supply closet and employee bathroom was to her right. At the end of the hallway was just one door that led to the main area of the bar. Chow was behind the bar with Ginger. Eric sat off to the side by himself up on that platform he'd been sitting on when she'd seen him for the first time. He was wearing a gray suit and a black shirt. His eyes seemed almost electrified. She walked straight over to him.

"Hello, Sookie." He said without looking up from the cell phone in his hands. Then his head jerked up, and he looked around Sookie to Pam. He said something in his native language that sent Pam back down the service hall.

"Sorry I'm late." Sookie apologized.

Eric looked her over, and it was obvious he was pleased with what he saw. The way she was dressed gave the impression of a damsel who would need saving in a time of crisis. She looked innocent, sweet and even virginal in that dress, but Eric knew better than that. He wouldn't say so out loud, of course, but he knew all about the dreams she was having. They caused a heat to churn in his body. It was a beyond pleasant feeling, but he knew it paled in comparison to what the real thing would be like.

"I have four candidates for the position. All I need is for you to listen to their thoughts while I ask them questions, and tell me who to choose." Eric told her. He made it sound simple, but Sookie knew that the wrong decision could ultimately lead to bad things for her.

Sookie looked over at the four candidates, and she was amazed that all four of them were clear broadcasters. "Their thoughts are too loud. I need you to keep the others in another room so I don't confuse the signals." Sookie told him.

"This is acceptable." Eric was on his feet and across the room before she could blink. "Ladies and gentlemen, the lovely creature sitting behind you is Sookie. She will be sitting in our chats." Eric gestured to Sookie. "Pam will show you in one by one, and a decision will be made this evening."

Eric nodded to Sookie, and she joined him at the bar. She felt all four candidates watching her, and the men were wondering if she was Eric's lover. If so, what a shame that such a sweet girl was fucking a dead man. Sookie simply smiled the way she did at Merlotte's, and allowed Eric to lead her to his office. She made herself comfortable on the couch so that only Eric could easily see any important change of expression.

The first candidate to come in was a woman by the name of Susie Perkins. She was married with two children under the age of ten. She and her husband owned a house just outside of Shreveport. They had a cat named Mittens and a Great Dane named Goliath. Her husband was a construction worker, and was very unsupportive of Vampire Rights. He was a follower of Steve Newlin, and just the thought of him was enough to make Sookie squirm. Susie hadn't even opened her mouth, and already Sookie was shaking her head.

Eric asked a few questions anyway, and Sookie was able to learn a few other things about Susie Perkins. First of all, Susie didn't agree with her husband's views on Vampire Rights. Susie was also unhappy in her marriage. She was looking for a vampire companion to keep her bed warm, so to speak. She found Eric to be the most intoxicating blend of powerful and gorgeous. What poor Susie Perkins didn't know was that Eric found desperation to be a complete turn-off, even if it came to him promising to do all sorts of dirty things. What Susie really wanted was a lap dog, and Eric wasn't the lap dog kind.

In the end, Susie was looking to walk on the wild side. The problem was that she spooked easily, and as a good mother, she would protect her children before for boss. Susie Perkins wouldn't do. Eric glanced at Sookie who shook her head.

Next came Jackson De La Croix. He had an impressive resume with vampire references. Too bad they were fake. If a vamp by the name of Alba Mancini **did** actually exist, she would be quite unhappy with this human for using her name. Jackson was a con-man, twice convicted for fraud, embezzlement and check kiting. Jackson wasn't even the man's real name, it was Sid Larson. He was from St. Paul, Minnesota, and he had dodged the draft by going to Mexico back in the 1970s.

It fascinated Sookie how quickly this man attempted to assume control of the flow of the conversation he was having with a thousand-year-old vampire. His ego was bigger, and required more stroking, than Eric's. She might have laughed at his feeble attempts to be the alpha dog if he wasn't teetering on such dangerous ground. She knew, however, that his insecurity was fueled by an abusive father who'd told him he would never amount to anything. Sookie watched Eric carefully. He seemed almost amused by the human (and Sookie was ashamed to call him that) sitting before him. Then Sookie saw an image in her head of what Jackson was planning if he was given the position.

Her eyes widened dramatically, and she began to cough violently to get Eric's attention. Seconds later Pam had appeared with a drink for her (a gin and tonic, heavy on the gin), and Eric was at her side in a flash. Jackson was led out of the room, much to his dismay. He hadn't anticipated Pam's strength. As soon as the door closed Sookie stopped coughing and carrying on as if she were choking to death on some unseen object.

She smoothed back her hair and crossed her legs as if nothing had just happened. Eric looked at her with admiration until she said, "He was going to drain your bank accounts, and then you." Sookie gulped down the majority of the drink Pam had brought her before she realized how much alcohol was in it.

Eric's demeanor changed immediately. His fangs burst from his mouth. "He is a drainer?" He looked to the door where Sid had been standing only moments before as if he were looking through it.

"I don't know." Sookie admitted." I didn't wait long enough to find out if this would be his first time." She finished what was left of her drink, her throat a little sore from all the violent hacking.

"I will have Pam hold him until you can find out more. You know I cannot allow a drainer to go free." Eric didn't look back at her.

"I know." Sookie sighed. "But you **will** turn him over to the police if he **is** a drainer." She reminded him.

Eric's head whipped around and she could see he was positively furious. She couldn't understand why anyone would want to drain a vampire. It was a dangerous task under the very best of circumstances. Her gut told her that Sid was an inexperienced drainer who was too arrogant to get familiar with the vampire community. If Side knew what Eric was a sheriff, he was too stupid to know what it meant. Drainers didn't usually go after vampires in a position of authority because they were too easy to track. There was an age requirement to be a sheriff. Those vampires were stronger and smarter, and almost impossible to capture. It was vampires like Bill that were the most likely to be caught. He lived alone and didn't spend much of his time with other vampires. Bill was actually the ideal catch because he would put himself at risk to save Sookie, if drainers wanted to use her as a lure into their trap. Drainers rarely cared about human life any more than they did vampires.

"Drainers must be made an example of. Too many humans think they can sell off our blood for recreational purposes." Eric said with passion.

"But it's okay for vampires to drain humans against their will?" Sookie balked at the idea Eric was presenting her with. Her eyes were wide, and she looked at him with disbelief.

"It's for survival." Eric snarled as if she should know better.

"There's True Blood now. The need for human blood, as tasty as it might be, is all a matter of habit. It's time for the undead to evolve."

"It's not that simple."

"No one said it would be easy." Sookie shook her head compassionately. "The point is that if your kind wants the same rights as humans, then you have to live by our laws. And nowhere does it say that vampires get to dole out punishment to drainers." Sookie turned his face to hers and looked him in the eyes. "Even if I understand why you want to deal with this your own way." She spoke softly.

A moment passed between them. They were both fired up over this potential drainer. Sookie was missing Bill's cool-headed approach to problem solving, while Eric just wanted to punish someone. Sookie's head was all fuzzy from the drink Pam had brought her, and she wished she had taken her time with it. She was quite a lightweight when it came to alcohol. So when Eric grabbed the back of her head and kissed her, it took her a minute to remember she was supposed to fight back.

She tried, but not as hard as she could have. He was a damn good kisser. So good, in fact, she felt her toes curl. His hands were lost in her hair, moving her head one way and then another. She took quick breaths when she could, and didn't stop him when he removed her cardigan. His hand was on her neck, feeling her blood pound through her arteries and veins. He pulled back when his fangs extended again.

That clicking sound was so familiar, and she had missed it. Carefully and gently, Eric maneuvered her so she was on top of him. He reached around her to unzip her dress, his fangs scraping against her collarbone. Her warm breath on the side of his face smelled like vanilla, thanks to the delicious gloss on her lips. He kissed her shoulders as he pulled down the thin straps of her dress. He was just about to unfasten the clasp on her lacy strapless bra when there was a knock on the door.

"Master, Pam wishes to speak to you." Ginger called out.

Sookie was breathing hard and fast, her head spinning. Her hands were on Eric's jaw, and in spite of Ginger's interruption, she continued to graze his face with her lips one spot after the other. "Don't stop now." She whispered with her eyes closed, and kissed him deeply.

"Master, are you there?" Ginger called out.

Eric growled in a resentful way, and pulled away from Sookie. "Did I do something wrong?" She asked.

"Wait here for me." Eric moved her aside, and then zoomed out of the room.

Ginger squealed down the hall, and then it was silent. Sookie sat there for a minute, and then it occurred to her what she had almost just done. She zipped up her dress and put her sweater back on. This was a mistake. She grabbed her purse and slipped out of Eric's office as silently as possible. She could hear him arguing with Pam in his own language. She bolted out of Fangtasia and headed for home.

* * *

Eric got back to his office to find Sookie was gone. He checked the bathroom and then the parking lot. Her car was gone. Sookie's car was easy to spot, being that it was bright yellow and about twenty years older than all the other cars in the lot. Determined to find her, Eric dismissed his candidates for the day due to Sookie's so-called illness. Pam, of course, was sending trackers after Jackson to find out if he was a drainer. As much as Eric wanted to keep him, he knew he couldn't do that. Not yet, at least.

He left the bar in Pam's capable hands, and headed for Sookie's house. He thought about driving, but it would only slow him down. Besides, leaving his car gave the impression that he was **in** the bar, which is what he would want a potential drainer to think. He'd been on Sookie's front porch for a little more than twenty minutes when she pulled up. It was a full moon, and he heard the faint howls of Weres for miles. Sookie stopped and parked her car. Eric opened the door for her.

"You shouldn't be here." Sookie said.

"We have unfinished business." Eric reminded her.

"My next night off is Wednesday. I'll come back for the rest of the interviews then." She hustled up her front steps, but Eric blocked the door. "Eric!"

"We were onto something." Eric leaned into her.

"We were about to make a mistake." Sookie replied with big brown eyes wide and sad.

"No." Eric shook his head. "You felt it. I know you felt it." He put his hand back on her neck. He bent his head to hers.

"I love Bill. I made him a promise." Sookie reasoned with herself.

He looked deep into her eyes. The Bond told him she was weakening. He kissed the tip of her nose and her sunkissed cheeks. He heard her breath catch, and felt her pulse quicken as she held it. His grip tightened on her throat, and he spun her around so her back was against the door. His free hand slid down and began to pull her skirt up.

"Not here." Her voice was barely audible to a human ear, but to Eric, it might as well have been a scream.

She turned to slip her key into the lock. The door popped open, and she stumbled back into the house, leaving Eric on the front porch. She dropped her keys and purse on the floor before slowly unbuttoning her sweater. She peeled it away painfully slowly, and she turned her back to him as she dropped that on the floor too. She took a few steps back to him so he could almost touch her, but without an invitation, there was an invisible line he couldn't cross. She reached around her back, and unzipped her dress. She pulled the straps down as slowly as Eric had about an hour before, and she let the dress fall around her ankles. She turned to find Eric leering at her, his fangs glistening in the moonlight.

She wore a lacy strapless bra and matching lacy panties with tiny pearls sewn to the front. It had been a gift from Bill the week before he left town. He hadn't even gotten the chance to see her wear it before he left. She looked right at Eric and again reached around to her back to remove her bra. When Eric saw that it was loose, he growled at her. This was tantamount to torture. He wasn't used to not being the one in control. Right now, Sookie was calling all of the shots. She could slam the door in his face if she wanted to, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

But the Bond told him she planned on doing no such thing. Her pretty lace bra fell to the floor, and he felt himself losing whatever control he had left. He was snarling at the door like a caged animal. She stared at his pants, and put a fingertip in her mouth. Her hair cascaded around her shoulder, a little tousled from the way he had moved her head around earlier. She held his gaze while her other hand disappeared down the front of her panties. A soft moan escaped her parted her full pink lips. Lips that tasted of vanilla.

Finally, just when it looked like Eric was a bull on a rampage, Sookie removed her finger from her mouth and asked, "Would you like to come in?" Her voice was sweet and soft, and it drove Eric crazy.

He moved fast, but reminded himself to be gentle. She was a human, and a relatively small one at that. He'd kicked the door closed on his way in. He picked her up easily, and her legs closed around his waist. There was a new element to her smell now, and it made him shudder slightly. The smell was natural and all her own. He put her down on the sofa, and she watched as he undressed. The closest she'd come to seeing him naked was the night she was attacked by the Maenad, and he was wearing jogging pants and a tight black tank top that showcased his chiseled body quite nicely.

God what he must have looked like a thousand years ago out in the sunshine, his skin tan and glistening with sweat. She would never see him out in the sun now, but she was still enjoying the sight before her. She laid back on the couch, her legs sprawling in different directions. His jacket and shirt were piled on Gran's old hardwood floor. Her legs started to quiver as he unzipped his tailor-made pants. She was teetering on the edge of an abyss, and she knew his hunger matched her own, even if it was of a slightly different sort.

Eric's pants slid off his hips, and fell to the floor with a quiet whoosh of air. For a minute, Sookie just laid back and looked at him, bracing herself for what was to come. She moved first, standing up carefully on Gran's old couch. She was still wearing her cute little white heels, and didn't want to damage the cushions on the sofa. They stood eye to eye, and as she'd done before, Sookie pressed the tips of her fingers to his fangs. As she did so she guided his hand to the front of her panties. He growled once again, and let her lead the way. When she least expected it, that was when he'd take over. The second he touched her she felt something inside her tighten and then relax completely. It was obvious to her that Eric required no instructions.

He moved his long cool fingers the exact right way while holding the back of her head with his other hand. When he kissed her it felt as if he'd been doing it for centuries instead of just minutes. She gasped and moaned in his mouth, and her knees began to buckle. She was seeing flashes of light and she was desperate for more. Her hand snaked between them, easily finding what she was searching for. Eric almost howled, which caught her by surprise. She turned her head to the side, presenting her throbbing jugular vein to him as a reward. His fingers continued to move at a furious pace as he sank his fangs into her throat. She gasped, and then cried out, moaning his name over and over again. Sookie's entire body shook, and she went limp against him.

He held her up with ease, and carried her to her bedroom. He deposited her on her bed, and peeled away her delicate, but now quite wet, lacy panties. He dropped them on the floor, and opened her legs wide. Again she put the tip of her finger in her mouth, and watched him. He hovered over her, kissing all of the bare skin he could before sinking between her open legs. His tongue and fingers worked together, and it wasn't long before Sookie's legs were slung over Eric's broad shoulders, and starting to pull him forward. The pointy heels of her shoes dug into his back.

And then, for a second time, his fangs plunged into the femoral artery that was working overtime. Sookie screamed. She'd never done that before, but it couldn't be helped. For a minute, Sookie thought she might pass out. Already her body was exhausted (thanks in part to the performance she'd put on in Eric's office), and twitching with pleasure. Every cell in her body was alert, and humming to be noticed. Her eyes closed in an effort to savor the moment. Just as Eric planned, and waited for, she lost control of herself just long enough for him to take control.

Her eyes were still closed when he shifted her body on the bed. Tiny aftershocks made it hard for her to catch her breath. With precise aim, Eric found his target, and pushed his way inside. Sookie's eyes opened, and immediately, her fingernails dug into his hips. The slight pain that accompanied such a gesture only drove Eric deeper into her.

He was slamming his body against hers, but slowly. He lifted her hips, knowing exactly how to hold her, and just a few seconds later she was moaning and calling out his name again, urging him on. He didn't at all fail to deliver. Although he did start to worry he might wear her out at this pace. So he slowed for a minute. He bent close to her so that their faces were less than an inch apart from each other.

"Bite me." He said.

She hesitated for just a few seconds before kissing him, and then moving her mouth to his shoulder. She bit him hard, and drew just the smallest amount of blood. Eric resumed his movements, and she licked at the small wound that was already starting to close on his shoulder. She had only taken in the smallest amount, but it was enough to give her more strength and energy. She was careful not to take any more than she did. Truth be told, she didn't really care to have vampire blood in her system if it wasn't absolutely necessary. But even with the Eric's blood now coursing through her veins, she knew she would have to stop at some point. Vampire blood or not, she knew she would be exhausted and sore the next day. But for the moment, she resolved to just enjoy herself. And she did. She enjoyed herself multiple times. Getting Eric to stop would be the more difficult part of all this. She'd forgotten all about that when she'd invited him in. Of course, she could always rescind his invitation, but she hoped it wouldn't come to that.

He rolled their bodies effortlessly so that she was on top of him. He put his hands on her hips, rocking her back and forth against him. He watched her face change as she moved, and the way she bit her bottom lip was intoxicating to him. He had been bedding women for more than a thousand years, but Sookie was officially the best he'd ever had. She pushed on his chest to try and slow him down, but that only made Eric move faster.

She kept her eyes closed, and finally he said, "Look at me, lover." Her eyes opened slowly.

They were warm and slightly out of focus. The Bond let him know she was tired, but wasn't ready to stop just yet. He knew she would deny it later, but she was feeling something for him. She'd been feeling it for a while now, and he worried it would go away upon Bill's return. Their eyes connected, and Sookie saw something in him that was much deeper than the lust and smugness she normally saw. If it wasn't love, it was something damn close to it.

He sat up and she moved her legs so they were wrapped around him again. Her small hands clasped around his thick neck, and she kissed him. Her breath came in small puffs of air that landed on his face, neck, shoulders and chest. At one point she threw her head back, her small body arching so that her silky blond hair grazed his thighs. His head bent to kiss her collarbone as she body tensed and convulsed one last time. By then Eric knew she was finished, and so he let go. He growled and plunged his fangs into her once more just above her heart.

And then, for Sookie, everything went dark.

* * *

When Sookie's eyes opened candles were flickering all over the room. Eric had covered her with a sheet, and he was laying next to her. His eyes were bright blue and staring at her with adoration. He reached over and moved some of her hair away form her face. Her body was numb with exhaustion and pleasure.

"How long was I out?" Sookie whispered, attempting to stretch the parts of her body she could still feel.

"A few hours. The sun will be up in an hour or two." Eric inched closer to her, and twined his hand with hers, kissing the back of it. "You are embarrassed, but you shouldn't be. You are beautiful." He kissed her hand again.

"I cheated on Bill. I broke a promise to him." Sookie's eyes filled with tears.

"Det er for sent å lukke stalldøren når hesten er boltet." Eric whispered to her, brushing away her tears. "It's too late to shut the stable door after the horse has bolted." He translated the old Norwegian Proverb for her. "What is done is done, my lover. We cannot take this back. Time cannot rewind. We will carry this with us always. Bill does not need to know."

"But I love him, Eric. How can I keep this to myself?" Sookie closed her eyes. Her shoulders shook and her chest heaved as she cried quietly.

"My dear Sookie." He cuddled her close, and his gentleness surprised her.

She had expected him to gloat; to literally be floating around her with an 'I told you so' expression on his face. Not only did they have sex, but they had what Sookie considered to be **explosive** sex. It was so different from Bill, but not at all a disappointment. And the thing that amazed her the most was how kind Eric was being to her. He was being compassionate and patient, two qualities she didn't think he possessed. Why wasn't he this way all the time?

But now in the aftermath, she struggled with the reality of what she had done. And ultimately, she had betrayed Bill. She knew that if she told Bill, he would blame Eric alone. Bill felt this extreme need to protect her at all times. He would cloak himself in denial about Sookie's involvement in this. He would convince himself that she'd been manipulated into giving in to Eric the same way he'd tricked her into sucking the bullet from his chest in Dallas.

"If you must tell him, I cannot stop you. But I must warn you it will come to no good. Bill will want revenge, and in a battle between him and I, he is certain to lose." Eric advised, and stroked Sookie's hair gently.

Sookie sniffled and continued to cry. She felt trapped. She didn't want to lie, but telling the truth could cost someone's life, maybe even her own. She hadn't thought of that before, although she didn't know how she could have missed it. Then she realized Eric's scent was thick in the air around them. It was all over the house, and all over her. Bill could come back at any time, and what would she say? How would she explain it all to him?

"If Bill asks why I was here, tell him about the job at Fangtasia." Eric told her. "I'm sure he would appreciate knowing about Jackson."

"Jackson?" Sookie cleared her throat, and looked at him with big confused eyes.

"The drainer."

Sookie let go of Eric's hand and sat up. "His name isn't Jackson." She proceeded to tell him the truth about Sid Larson. By the time she was finished, Eric's peaceful demeanor was gone.

"Where is your phone?" He asked. "I must call Pam at once."

"The kitchen." The words had barely left her mouth when Eric was gone. She got out of bed slowly, and stood on her wobbly legs. She was sore already, and knew it would be that way for at least a few hours, if not a day.

Sookie could hear Eric speaking in hushed tones. "Pam har trackere plukke opp drainer straks. Har dem bringe ham tilbake til baren, og stue ham i kjelleren. Jeg vil være der snart å beskjeftige seg med ham. Sørg for at han blir brakt tilbake i live." _Pam have the trackers pick up the drainer right away. Have them bring him back to the bar, and stow him in the cellar. I will be there soon to deal with him. Make sure he is brought back alive. _Eric hung up the phone without waiting for a response, so Sookie assumed he wasn't questioning Pam. He had given an order. "I must return to Shreveport." What a sight it would be if Bill walked in now to find Sookie and Eric naked in her kitchen. "Will you come with me?"

"And do what? The sun will be rising soon, and I can't babysit Sid all day. I have a job, Eric." She reminded him, and without warning, she lost her footing. She was still weak and exhausted.

Eric caught her and held her up. In fact, he had scooped her up like she was a toddler, and her legs dangled over his strong forearm. "Then come back tonight. Please, I need to know more about this man, and you can read him."

Sookie sighed and said, "I will be there at ten."

"Thank you, lover." He kissed her forehead, and put her back in bed.

He went to dress and was back at her side seconds later with her clothes in his arms. He laid them on the edge of her bed, and sat down next to her. She was on the verge of sleep once again, but he could feel her pain. He kicked himself for not being more gentle with her. He unbuttoned the cuff of his sleeve, and rolled it up just a little bit.

"Sookie." He spoke quietly and her eyes fluttered open. She looked up to see him bite his arm. "You must drink."

"No." She said adamantly.

"You will feel better. If you don't, and Bill returns, he will know something is wrong. Quickly, before the wound closes." Eric pressed his arm to her mouth. She hated it, but she knew Eric was right. She took as little as she could, and almost immediately she felt better. "There." He smiled at her as he unrolled his sleeve.

Physically she felt better, but mentally and emotionally she was drained. She had no idea what to say to Eric in a situation like this. "This cannot happen again." She told him.

He looked pained, but said, "When you are ready, you know where to find me. Sweet dreams, lover." He kissed her one more time, and was gone.

* * *

Sookie arrived at Fangtasia to find Sid chained up in the basement where Lafayette had been kept. Not surprisingly, Sid was more angry than he was scared. He just didn't get the seriousness of the situation. He was making all sorts of threats in his head, but when he spotted Sookie coming down the stairs his attitude changed. The anger became a toxic blend of rage and lust. He wanted to dominate her, and very specific ideas of how to do such a thing resounded from his brain in surround sound.

"You watch your dirty mouth, Mister." Sookie warned him.

"I didn't say anything you crazy bitch." He responded, and Eric growled at him.

"You heard the lady." Eric said in a tone of warning.

"Fuck her. She ain't nothing but a whore." Sid glared at Sookie.

"Eric, don't." Sookie pleaded. If Eric killed him now then whole thing would be pointless. "I can handle this." She assured him.

"You gonna let some white trash Barbie Doll tell you what to do?" Sid taunted, and Eric just smiled at Sookie.

"Now may I hit him?" Eric asked, which Sookie was not expecting.

"Since when does the whore call the shots?" Sid laughed, looking from one vampire to the other. Chow wasn't paying much attention to Sid's ramblings, and Pam looked completely bored. She was, however, admiring Sookie's dress.

Sookie turned to face Sid, and walked over to him. With the vampire blood in her veins it was harder to control herself, but she wanted to lead by example. She moved to the middle of the room, completely relaxed, in a pale blue dress and the same white heels as the day before. Today her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, and she looked like she'd stepped out of a Life Magazine article from the late 1950s.

"The whore calls the shots when there are three hungry vampires who would love to tear your lying ass apart." Sookie said, and Sid snickered. "And believe it or not, the only reason you aren't dead yet is because of me. So I would think you should be very carefully about what you say next." Sookie advised.

"Go ahead and kill me. You'll be sorry." He threatened, but his brain told Sookie that no one would notice.

"Are you a drainer?" Eric wasted no time getting to the point.

"No." He was lying.

"Now, now, Sid, it's not nice to lie." Sookie clicked her tongue, and Sid glared back at her with malice in his eyes.

"Bitch you need to keep your fucking mouth shut." She ordered.

Sookie looked at Eric who was just itching to hit Sid. She arched an eyebrow at him, and this deranged smile crept across his face. In that moment, he never wanted Sookie more. He hit Sid in his ribs, probably breaking a couple of them.

"You **will** watch your language, Sid." Eric instructed, and grabbed Sid by the hair. "Now, how many vampires have you drained?"

"Fuck you!" Sid gasped for air. "And fuck your whore!"

Sookie stepped forward and put her hand on Sid's face. Eric let go so Sookie could work without him in the way. She could hear all of the names rattling around in his head. "Lavergne DeLong, Constance Morrie, Michelina Solange, Katrina Banks, Sandrine Parrish, Holly Turner-" She lost him when he blacked out. "He drained them all." She was stunned. She'd thought for sure he was a first timer. Sookie took her hand away. She turned to face Eric. "He wanted Pam."

Eric and Pam exchanged glances and roared with laughter. Pam wasn't into men and hadn't been for at least a century. Sid never would have had a chance against her. Everyone was so busy laughing that no one noticed when Sid came to. That is, until Sookie yelped. He had her by her hair, and she was twisting and turning to free herself. Thanks to Eric's blood, she reached up and bent Sid's arm the wrong way, dislocating his elbow. He howled in pain, and let her go.

It took all the control Eric had not to pillage Sookie right there. The unexpected brutality of her actions was an extreme turn-on. "Eric, I'm going upstairs to check on my hair." Sookie rubbed the back of her head as she walked past him. He inhaled her scent, and felt a chill run up his spine. She turned back to Sid before starting up the stairs. "It was nice knowing you, Sid."

His theatrics stopped as he realized that three hungry vampires were walking toward him with their gangs exposed. As Sookie walked up the steps she heard Eric, Pam and Chow all growling at Sid. They waited until she was upstairs, and then they tore him apart.

* * *

Eric was a bloody mess when he came up from the basement. Sookie was shocked when he walked into his office. Her stomach churned with guilt and the overpowering smell of blood. Her senses were all heightened on account of Eric's blood coursing through her veins.

"You surprise me, lover." Eric said to her in a calm cool voice.

"It was me or him." She said, suddenly understanding where Eric was coming from in all of their arguments. "I should get going." Sookie stood up.

"Stay. I can have anything you need brought here." He told her.

"I need to go home. I need to shower," His eyes lit up with the possibilities. "Alone." She finished.

"I understand." Eric relented. "I will come to see you before sunrise." He warned and moved to kiss her goodbye.

"No. You're covered in blood." The smell was about to make her gag. "I'll leave the kitchen door unlocked for you."

She went home and showered until she was out of hot water. After that she burrowed into her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. She was cold for some reason, and couldn't seem to shake it. She fell into a dream of what Sid's last moments must have been like. She woke to the feeling of a cool hand on her warm shoulder.

"Hello Eric." She purred.

"It is not Eric." Bill said, and Sookie froze.

"Bill?" She squeaked, and rolled over to face him. His dark blue eyes caught hers and she began to cry. "I missed you so much." She sobbed, and pulled his body onto hers.

"I missed you too." He kissed her with his eyes closed, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Eric floating in her bedroom window. Bill's mouth moved to her neck, kissing it gently. Sookie mouthed the words, "I'm sorry."

Eric nodded and then vanished.

"You seem sad, Sookie." Bill brushed her hair back.

"Eric asked for my help with something and it got a little crazy." She confessed, and Bill looked furious. "Don't worry, sweetheart, I was in no danger. Eric took very good care of me." She promised him.

Bill rolled onto his back and pulled Sookie close. "Tell me everything." He kissed her hair.

"Well, it all started after my meeting with Floyd...." Sookie started, and kissed his chest before going any further.

She had Bill back, but she wasn't sure if she was his any longer, and she worried he could feel the difference. Only time would tell if they could close the gaps. But in the meantime, it felt nice to be back in his arms, regaling him with stories of their time apart.

* * *

**A/N: **This was the first Eric/Sookie fic I ever wrote. Not to mention, it as the first smut/lemons I ever wrote to boot. This actually ended up becoming the first chapter of a story called All Tomorrow's Parties, which I'm debating posting here. We shall see. My apologies to anyone who is fluent in Swedish and is annoyed by the translations. I don't speak the language myself, so it was Google Translate to the rescue. Oh, and this also wasn't beta'd, so all of the errors are my bad. Hope you enjoyed it!


	2. All Tomorrow's Parties

**Title:** All Tomorrow's Parties pt. 1 of 10

**Fandom:** True Blood

**Rating:** R for language.

**Spoilers:** Canon thru 2.11

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any rights to this series. The rights belong to Charlaine Harris and Alan Ball.

**Summary:** An innocent night out in Shreveport ends with Sookie agreeing to accompany Eric to the Black & Red Ball being held at Queen of Louisiana Sophie Ann's mansion. This is a can't miss party for all of the vampires in authority in Louisiana, along with Sophie Ann's personal guests. It comes as quite a shock to Sookie when she finds out that her now ex-boyfriend Bill Compton is on the guest list. All of a sudden Sookie is caught in the middle of a battle between Eric and Bill for her heart. And maybe even her life.

* * *

**Chapter One: All Tomorrow's Parties**

I didn't feel like staying home alone, and I didn't really like hanging out at the bar when I wasn't working. I somehow got suckered into running drinks or fetching napkins and dressing. On my nights off, I was off. So, I thumbed through the newspaper and stopped when I saw that Notorious was playing at one of the old movie theaters in Shreveport. It was one of my favorite black and white movies, and brought together two of my favorite actors, Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman.

I had missed the 6:00 show, but I could make the 9:30 if I got moving. I was already dressed in jeans and a simple white t-shirt. My hair was plaited into braided pigtails. I saw no reason to change any of that. No point in getting all fancy to go sit in a dark theater alone. I put on a pair of tennis shoes, and grabbed a sweater along with my purse. That theater was always icy cold in the summertime.

I slowed down some when I drove by Bill's house, but I didn't stop. I could see lights on in his living room and I wondered if he ever missed me. He was my first love, and it was hard not to think about him. I really did love him. I also used to think that would be enough to keep us together. I was wrong. I was also an adulterer.

Six months ago while he was on an assignment from the Queen of Louisiana, I ended up having a fling with Eric. The guilt of it had been overwhelming for me, and the week after he returned, I broke down and told him the truth.

* * *

_I was waiting on the edge of my old bed when Bill emerged from his hidey-hole at sunset. I hung my head sullenly, and he was crouching before me almost instantly. "Sookie, what troubles you?" His cool hands swallowed mine._

"_I have been keeping a secret from you. I thought I could forget about it, but I can't. Every time you tell me you love me, it just reminds me of what I've done, and the fact that I don't deserve your love." I said through my tears._

"_Oh sweetheart, it can't be that bad." He gathered me into his arms and brushed away my tears._

"_While you were gone, I slept with Eric." I spoke softly, ashamed of myself._

_Not just for betraying Bill, or even myself, but because I'd liked it. I liked the rush that being in Eric's presence brought me. While it was also true that I felt safe with Bill, I wasn't feeling that spark anymore. The passion I'd had for him when we first met had waned, and I rarely ever felt it anymore. It scared me that it seemed the only time I really felt it now was when he bit me, and I didn't want to become one of those junkies that needed to be fed on in order to feel anything. _

"_No." It was a simple denial from Bill, who was searching my eyes for some sign that I was lying to him. "No." He said again, only a little more emphatically._

"_I am so sorry, Bill. It was just one time, and I didn't mean for it to happen." I said, knowing how cliched it was to say something like that in a moment like this._

_Bill looked right through me as if I wasn't even there. He was too stunned and hurt to be angry, but I knew that wouldn't last. He didn't say a word. He just let me go, and quickly left my house. He stayed away for two days before coming by to tell me it was over._

"_Please withdraw my invitation." Bill requested after returning my property that I'd left at his house._

"_Bill, come on, don't do this. We can still be friends." I suggested, but the look he gave me was one of agony._

"_For 140 years I walked this Earth without love in my life. Then I met you, and I thought maybe you were my reward for persisting so long alone. You brought me back to life, Sookie. But I can't look at you now without seeing Eric. And so this must end. You will always have a space in my heart, but I cannot be your friend. Not now." Bill spoke without looking at me._

_I took a shaky deep breath and said, "I withdraw your invitation, Bill." I could barely get the words out before I dissolved into sobs. _

_That was the last time I saw him._

* * *

The drive to Shreveport was nice. The air was starting to cool now that the sun had gone down. The air was humid, and crackling with electricity that suggested a storm might be approaching. When I looked up I saw heavy clouds moving in from the south. I went to the box office and bought myself a ticket. Inside I got a small popcorn and a medium coke. The theater was dark and empty. I chose a seat smack in the middle of the theater.

Classical music played quietly until the movie started at exactly 9:30. By then my popcorn was just about gone. I was drawn into the movie immediately. Cary Grant's smooth voice bounced off the walls and caressed my cheek. I watched the plot unfold, even though I knew it like the back of my hand. I held my breath as I always did during the scene in the cellar, and I cringed when Claude Rains figured out one of his wine bottles was broken. But before I knew it, Cary had come to rescue Ingrid from a slow death by poisoning.

I felt a whoosh of air behind me, but figured it was nothing more than the air conditioner kicking on. I pulled on my sweater, gathered up my trash and walked out. The theater was empty. Eerily silent. I threw away my empty popcorn bucket and the cup from my semi-flat soda. I dropped my mental shields in search of a human brain close by, and found no one. I was worried, bu what was I supposed to do? Then a familiar smell caught my attention, and I turned around.

"Eric?" He almost always seemed to catch me off guard. But I hadn't seen him in quite a while either.

"Hello, lover." He practically purred at me. His voice was cool and smooth, and his accent still did wonderful things to my spine. I am ashamed to admit it, but hearing him call me _lover_ the way he did was enough to make me blush. The nickname made me both tingle and sad at the same time. "Have you missed me?"

Now there's a question. I'd been lonely lately, but I wasn't sure if I missed him or not. It was more like I craved him. More often than not I woke up breathless from dreams I would be too embarrassed to tell him about. Unfortunately, the Bond between us did all the talking when I couldn't find my voice. I cleared my throat and said, "Maybe a little."

He narrowed his eyes. "Just a little?" He was toying with me.

I smiled, but said nothing. I'd come to realize I was awfully good at teasing Eric. It drove him crazy, and it made me feel good to see him squirm. I know that sounds horrible, but I can't help myself. Eric has never had to do much other than show up to get attention. Women, and nowadays men, are constantly throwing themselves at his very large feet. And the ones who don't approach him, he can glamour into doing what he wants. But that doesn't work on me. Sometimes I wish it did.

"So what brought you to this theater of all the theaters in Shreveport?" Eric stepped toward me.

He was dressed the way he would be for a shift at Fangtasia. Tailored black pants, black silk shirt and what appeared to be a black velvet jacket. On anyone else it would have looked ridiculous. On Eric, it made me wonder how easy it was to rip silk.

"The movie." I tried to keep thoughts of a naked Eric out of my head, even though it was quite a thing to see.

"You are a fan of old movies?" He seemed surprised by this, but then again, how would he know I spent most of my time off parked in front of TCM with a frozen pizza?

"Yes." I said simply.

"You know, if you look closely you can see me in Casablanca." Eric smiled at me.

"Yeah right." I laughed and rolled my eyes. I'd seen that movie more than a dozen times, and at no point did I see a mammoth Viking milling around.

"Ingrid Bergman had some of the most savory B Negative I've ever tasted." Eric recalled fondly.

"You drank Ingrid Bergman's blood?" My jaw dropped. I never would have pegged her for a fangbanger, but then Eric had probably glamoured her.

"And fucked her brains out. Twice, actually." I didn't know if I should be impressed or disgusted.

"Did you glamour her?" Stupid question, I admit it.

"Of course. She had a bit of a thing for Pam, as I recall."

"Interesting." I never would have guessed that either.

"So did you enjoy the movie?"

"I always do."

"What is your favorite part?" Eric stepped a little closer to me. He seemed to be inching a long slowly.

I thought about it for a moment. "It's at the end of the movie when Devlin comes to rescue Alicia. He tells her he loves her, and she asks him to say it again because it keeps her awake. So he tells her he loves her again and again." I explained.

"I had no idea you were a romantic." Eric looks genuinely surprised by this.

"I'm a girl, aren't I?" I scoffed.

"A woman." He corrected, and I smiled. All of a sudden in my mind I saw myself in the role of Alicia. Eric was my Devlin. That left Bill relegated to the role of Alexander Sebastian. I never realized how similar my own story was to the one in the movie.

"Have you seen the movie?" I asked Eric.

"Several times."

"What's your favorite part?" I asked in return because I wasn't sure he was telling me the truth.

"When Devlin is caught kissing Alicia. He walks right up to Sebastian and says, 'I knew her before you, loved her before you, only I'm not as lucky as you'." There was no mistaking Eric's message there, and I had to look away from him.

"What are you doing here, Eric?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

"I live in Shreveport. It's not everyday I see a bright yellow Nova on the street." He reminded me.

"Right." I looked down at my feet. Stupid car. I really should get another one. Well, another used one. It was moments like those when I wished I had some zippy little Toyota like a thousand other cars spotted around Louisiana on a daily basis.

"Besides, I own this building." He revealed to me. I was completely shocked by this.

"You do?"

"It is actually a good investment, and will make a great night club." Eric looked around at all of the space in the lobby alone.

It was a beautiful building with a slightly Gothic edge to it. The ceilings were vaulted, and hand-painted with a beautiful mural. Crystal light fixtures hung from the ceiling, and the molding looked like it was probably the original molding. There were Greek columns supporting the high ceilings, and there were mirrors that went from the floor to about ten feet in the air. The floors were marble, and the doors were stained glass.

"You're turning this into a night club?"

"Eventually." His voice was a little distant, as if he were distracted. "Why, do you object?" His attention was immediately focused on me when he realized I sounded a little distressed with his plans.

"It's just a beautiful theater. Not like the new ones with all of the fancy modifications they have now." I shrugged. Why I was overcome with this sudden sense of sentimentality, I have no idea.

"I have something to show you." Eric told me, and held out his huge hand to me. I took it, and walked beside him. I would never have guessed, but there was a trick wall at the end of the corridor. He moved a light sconce to the left, and a pocket door slid open. "Go ahead." He gestured, and I walked through the opening.

It was pitch dark, but Eric rushed past me to turn on a dim light. It occurred to me then that since vampires didn't like, or need, much light it made perfect sense that he would own a movie theater. It was obvious to me that Eric spent a great deal of time in the room we were standing in. The design screamed of him. There was black leather on the walls, as well as the furniture. The tables were wrought iron. The floor had plush black carpet. There were no windows, and there was only one door that I assumed lead to a closet.

"Do you live here?" I asked carefully.

"When the need arises." He confessed.

This was a huge deal. Eric was sharing one of his resting places with me. He turned on a light over his desk, and then removed a painting from the wall. A wall safe was mounted there, and he punched in the combination. The door popped open, and he pulled out a stack of aged white papers from the small vault. "Here. I want you to have this."

Accepting gifts from anyone made me uncomfortable, but from Eric, I was downright scared. I reached to take the papers from him, and I realized it was a script. Not only was it a script, it was a signed script. The signatures of Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant, Claude Rains and Alfred Hitchcock were clearly legible on the front of the script. My mouth fell open, and I sputtered for air.

"Eric, I can't take this." I tried to hand it back to him.

"It is yours." He closed the safe, and the conversation along with it. "Just be gentle with it. It is over sixty years old." As if I needed to be reminded of this fact.

I shook my head in disbelief. "Thank you, Eric." I sat on one of the leather couches and gently flipped the pages of the script. Eric sat beside me silently, watching me.

"You should smile like that more often." Eric reached over and tucked some of my hair behind my ear.

I turned to look at him, and I wondered why he was being so nice to me. This wasn't the Eric I was used to. Something big must be coming my way. "What do you want from me, Eric?" It had been months since he'd needed my help, so I figured it was about time for him to ask me for something. I suddenly got the feeling like his gift was actually a bribe.

"Am I that obvious?" He asked, and my heart sank.

I handed him back his script. "I don't appreciate you trying to buy me off." I stood up and started toward the spot where the door had slid open, but I realized I didn't have the slightly clue how to open the door again. "How do I get out?"

Eric was at my side in an instant. I kept my eyes straight so I was staring at a black leather wall. "You can't."

I glared at him. "This isn't funny, Eric."

"Do I look like I'm laughing, lover?" He retorted.

"Eric, I just came here to see a movie. That's all I wanted. I didn't know this was your theater, or I would have stayed home." I sighed on the verge of tears. It was hard to see him again. It was even harder because he was being nice to me. It was easier to stay away from him when I could hate him, and he was making it very hard for me to hate him.

"I need a favor." Eric finally admitted, and I folded my arms over my chest.

"It better not require me to get naked in any capacity." I shot him a pointed stare.

"Well, that would be fun, but that is not what I was thinking of." He actually winked at me, and I couldn't help but crack a small smile.

"So, what is it?" I asked.

"Would you like something to drink?" He asked in attempts to delay our conversation from going any further.

"No, I'm fine. Just spit it out, Eric. What's going on?" I asked him. Eric walked across the room to the small black refrigerator near his desk and pulled out a bottle of A Positive True Blood. That struck me as odd because I distinctly remember him drinking O Negative any other time I saw him. "On second thought, I'll take some water if you have it." I said, stepping closer to the desk in hopes of seeing inside the small fridge. He kept it open just long enough for me to see that all he had was A Positive True Blood.

"Anything else?" He asked me, handing over the bottle of water.

I was actually surprised he had anything else in there besides True Blood. Most vampires didn't bring their conquests to their resting place to have sex with them, or feed on them. Even if they were glamoured within an inch of their sanity afterwards, it was just too risky. And being that Eric was a sheriff, it was even riskier for him to do such a thing. The water was barely cool, but then Eric preferred his blood a little warmer than most vampires so he didn't bother keeping it any colder than he had to. He popped his True Blood into the microwave while I struggled with the cap on my bottle of water. Eric took the bottle back from me and removed it easily.

"Thank you." I smiled at him and sipped the water.

The microwave buzzed when it was finished, and Eric removed his True Blood. He sat down behind his desk in a large black leather chair, and leaned back in it. He sipped the blood, though I know how much he hated drinking that stuff. Especially when there was a tasty blond telepath standing in front of him that he had tasted once before. But I liked having my blood count back where it belonged and without any vampire blood mixing with it. I was all Sookie again just the way I liked it.

"You know, you are one of the few women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing whose beauty is actually lessened by vampire blood." He told me as he sipped his True Blood. He was getting better at the sweet talking, even if now wasn't the right time for it.

"Let's just get down to business." I pulled a chair over to his desk and sat down.

"In your time together, did Bill ever mention the Black & Red Ball to you?" Eric asked.

"No." I shook my head. Bill tried to keep me in the dark as much as possible for my own safety. He told me things on a need to know basis, and I was fine with that.

"It is a large party thrown by the Queen of Louisiana every year. It is generally only for vampires in position of authority within the state, but Sophie Ann does have her favorite workers she likes to add to the list. We are expected to not only attend, but bring a friend along." Eric's eyes were glowing slightly, and he was looking at me intensely.

"Sounds lovely." I said because I couldn't think of anything else to say. "Who are you tak-" I stopped right there. "Oh no!" I shook my head, catching on to where he was going with this.

"Sookie, the Queen has asked that I bring you." Eric explained.

"What? No! Eric, I _do not_ want to get any more involved with vampires than I already am. It's one thing to do small favors for you from time to time, but it's another to get myself involved with the Queen. I have a job in Bon Temps that I love, and family and friends. I do not want all of that turned upside down because the Queen wants me." I almost shouted at him.

I was pissed. How Sophie Ann even knew about me, I had no clue. Then I remembered that Bill had probably mentioned me. If he didn't there was a chance word had just spread since vampires, for all their privacy about their own business, didn't give a damn about mine. I was fair game as far as they were concerned. Quite frankly, having Sophie Ann as an ally might not be such a bad thing. On the other hand, being an ally to her could be reason enough for a vampire from another state to kidnap me, torture me and kill me. I was trapped, and refusing to go could have dire consequences for Eric. Of course, Eric could only be dropping Sophie Ann's name as a way to make sure he gets what he wants. And he wonders why I don't trust him?

"It would just be for one weekend. We would leave at sundown on Thursday and stay at the mansion. Most of the guests that are coming are vampire or supernatural in some capacity. The vampires will be staying in these catacombs under the mansion, and their companions will be staying in light-tight rooms in the main part of the house. We get there early Friday morning in time for a short reception with the Queen before we all retire for the day. Human guests are able to walk the grounds freely or tour New Orleans if they want. In the evening there is a meeting on Friday. Saturday you get to spend the day doing whatever you want. Sophie usually takes very good care of her human guests because it pleases them, which in turns mean they please their vampire companions, which means they want to continue working for Sophie Ann. Saturday night is the Black & Red Ball. Sunday there is a brunch for the humans and usually some sort of in-house spa treatment available. At sundown we would depart for home." Eric laid the whole thing out for me.

"And all I have to do is get dressed up and be charming? I won't be passed around like a vegetable tray for other vamps to sample, will I?" I asked him.

"Not unless you want to be." Eric got closer to me, and I could tell there was something he was holding back. "You will, however, have to tell the others at the ball that you are mine."

I laughed then. There it was! I knew something like this was going to happen eventually. "You are a sneaky bastard, you know that?" I shook my head.

"Is that a yes?" Eric ignored my outburst completely, which infuriated me.

"What if I refuse?" I asked out of curiosity.

"The queen will not be pleased." He turned away from me and went back to the other side of the room to rehang his painting. I suspected he was just trying to find a way to keep his eyes away from mine.

"I figured that much." I followed close behind him.

"You remember what Bon Temps looked like when the Maenad was searching for Sam?"

"She would do that because I didn't attend a ball?" I found that hard to believe, but a vampire could rip out the throat of a human for absolutely no reason. It wasn't such a stretch that she might destroy an entire town.

"I don't know that she _would_ do something like that, but she could, if she wanted to." Eric told me.

"Well, I...ugh...dammit, Eric!" I cursed at him, and my feeble attempts at being angry just made him smile slightly.

"You're even prettier when you're angry." He held up my chin with the tips of his cool fingers.

"I hate you." I said flatly.

His smile only grew. "So does that mean you have changed your mind?"

I took a deep breath and rubbed my eyes. "I have to talk to Sam and see if I can get the time off. I was supposed to work this weekend."

"Do not worry. I will make sure you are compensated for your time." He assured me.

I know he meant that in a good way, but to me it sounded like the opening negotiations for an hour of a call girl's time in a whorehouse. Unfortunately, I was the call girl in that metaphor, and I didn't like that one bit. "We can talk about it afterward, okay?"

"This is acceptable." He nodded at me. "Do you have a ball gown?" He asked me, and I just snorted.

"Oh sure. Sam likes us to wear one once a week, and I occasionally like to weed the garden that way."

"You are being funny, yes?" Eric's face was expressionless.

"Lighten up, Eric." I rolled my eyes. "To answer your question, no, I do not have a ball gown."

"Then I will have a few sent to your home so that you can choose one." He told me.

"This is acceptable." I mocked him, and he glared at me with blazing blue eyes. I smiled and then rose up on the tips of my toes. "Lighten up, Eric." I kissed his lips softly.

I heard his fangs click in his mouth, and he growled at me quietly. I let him grab my head and kiss me again. Oh how easily my knees could go weak from that. Not to mention, it was easy to get used to such a good kisser. When he released me I looked down at my feet to make sure they were still there.

"Are you sure I cannot accompany you home?" Eric asked.

"I have to work tomorrow, but I will call you and let you know if I can make it to the ball." I promised him. The confidence in his eyes told me he had no doubt I would be there, but I liked to keep him guessing.

He opened the trick door for me, and I walked out of his hidden room with him right behind me. "Goodnight, lover." He opened the door of the theater for me, and held it while I walked past him.

"Goodnight, Eric." I said over my shoulder, and walked down the street to my car.

* * *

**A/N:** I have to give partial beta credit here to **a-phoenix-rose** for vigilantly sending me PMs to show me where my goofs are. I swear, I'm in the process of locating a beta! My apologies if you got an alert twice for this story. When I realized I hadn't fixed the line breaks, I took the chapter down to edit it. So I'm sorry to toy with your fangirl affections. I know how extremely uncool that is. Alerts/favorites are super awesome and reviews are even better *hint*

Thanks for reading!

*sloppy Viking kisses*

Meg


	3. Where Did You Sleep Last Night

**A/N:** A **HUGE** thank you to the wonderful **a-pheonix-rose** for her guidance and killer beta skills on this chapter. I think this might just be the start of a beautiful friendship. She worked wonders on this chapter and I have a renewed excitement for this story. Sorry for the delay in posting, but I wanted it to be as close to perfect as possible. Any errors that remain are totally mine.

**I do not own any of these characters. I simply enjoy locking them in hidey-holes and covering them in lemon zest.**

* * *

_**Previously in All Tomorrow's Parties....**_

_I heard his fangs click in his mouth, and he growled at me quietly. I let him grab my head and kiss me again. Oh how easily my knees could go weak from that. Not to mention, it was easy to get used to such a good kisser. When he released me I looked down at my feet to make sure they were still there. _

"_Are you sure I cannot accompany you home?" Eric asked._

"_I have to work tomorrow, but I will call you and let you know if I can make it to the ball." I promised him. The confidence in his eyes told me he had no doubt I would be there, but I liked to keep him guessing._

_He opened the trick door for me, and I walked out of his hidden room with him right behind me. "Goodnight, lover." He opened the door of the theater for me, and held it while I walked past him._

"_Goodnight, Eric." I said over my shoulder, and walked down the street to my car._

_

* * *

  
_

**Chapter**** Two: Where Did You Sleep Last Night**

I was sitting behind the wheel of my car, trying to figure out just what I was getting myself into by agreeing to attend this ball with Eric. It was times like these that I wished Bill were with me. He would immediately intervene if Eric was attempting to put me in harm's way, and since I wasn't expertly versed in vampire politics and ritual, I had no way of knowing if I was really just going to some fancy party, or if I was about to walk into the lion's den. Mostly, I wanted to know what the hell Sophie Ann wanted from me. I realize I'm not just a human, but on the supernatural scale, I don't rank very high.

Thunder cracked overhead, and lightning flashed a few seconds later. Small droplets of water fell on my windshield, and I started my car. Poor thing was on its last life. Then I started thinking about that kiss in Eric's secret room before I'd left. I would be thinking about that all night long, I knew that much. I'd be having another one of those dreams that woke me up in a hot sweat, all twisted up in my sheets. It occurred to me then how stupid I was being.

I was a free woman now. I didn't owe any explanations to anyone else. I liked Eric, when he wasn't acting like a deranged serial killer or an arrogant jackass. I was starting to get the idea that there was this whole other side of himself that he kept locked away to preserve his image as a badass Viking vampire who would just as soon tear out your throat as look at you. Although it raised the question of what did he see in me that made me so special? Was it just the challenge of getting me into his bed? Technically speaking, he still hadn't done that, but I doubted very much if he even owned a bed. I wanted to think that it was something more than that. The kiss in his office/lair/bedroom had certainly suggested it was, but Eric had fooled me before. Who's to say he wouldn't do it again? Hell, how did I know that kiss wasn't just a set up to get me to go to Louisiana with him without worry?

"You are so paranoid." I looked at myself in the rearview mirror of my car, but I felt I had every right to be. I was putting my life on the line for someone who had proved to me in the past that he couldn't be trusted.

On the other hand, he had saved my life, and he didn't have to do that. What his motivations were for such a thing didn't really matter. Just the fact that he had prevented me from dying was enough to tell me that he cared about me in some sort of capacity. But was that good enough of a reason to go back into the theater and lock myself in his giant hidey-hole for the next six hours?

"No, but that kiss is." I turned off the car, and got out of it.

The rain was falling harder and in bigger drops. Lightning flashed overhead once again, and I ran toward the theater. I had just raised my hand to pound on the door when it opened. Eric stood there with a smug, yet triumphant look on his face. I hadn't been out in the rain for long, but it was raining hard enough that I was soaked. Eric could clearly see through my white t-shirt, and it was obvious he liked what he saw.

"Shut up and kiss me," I told him, and he didn't waste any time doing what he was told. He hauled me up easily, and my legs wrapped around him.

He walked into the building, letting the door fall closed behind us. He reached back to lock it before taking me back toward his hidden room. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and for a minute, I thought he was going to tear my shirt off. I had lost many articles of clothing that way when I was dating Bill, but I would have to drive home at some point, and I couldn't very well do that topless.

"Don't rip my shirt,." I pulled away for just a second to tell him that, but I quickly stopped thinking when he started kissing the pulse point below my ear. I moaned and turned my head to hungrily find his lips.. This was so much better than going home alone and listening to rain fall on the old tin roof.

The pocket door opened and Eric walked right through it. The room was still dimly light, and the script he'd tried to give me was precisely where I'd left it. He put me down on his desk, and pulled my shirt up over my head. I reached up and took my hair out of the braids it had been in all day long. My head tingled when I shook my hair loose. I loved that feeling. As if I didn't already have reasons to shiver, I just added one more. Eric had taken off his jacket while we were talking before, and now he was unbuttoning his shirt. I was tempted to push his hands out of the way and just rip the darn thing off. He was taking too long.

He twisted some of my hair around his fingers once his shirt was out of the way, and I went to work getting his pants off. I forgot how small I felt when I was next to him. Eric is nearly a foot taller than me, and if I were to stand behind him you would never know I was there. It was nice to feel safe, but feel desirable at the same time. Not to mention, there should be a shrine somewhere to his butt. I could stare at it all day long.

His pants fell to the ground while his hands moved on to the button of my jeans. I leaned back ever so slightly, and he released the button before lowering the zipper. I expected him to remove them the rest of the way, but he didn't. Instead, he just put his large hand down the front of them. I gasped at the feeling that ran through my body. And to think, I could have been on my way home to Bon Temps...

Just like before, Eric didn't need my help at all. He knew what he was doing, and I was content to just let him go. I felt like one of those wind up toys that had been fully wound, and for months someone had been holding the me in place. Now I was set free, and I was bouncing all over the place in a wild kind of way. I forgot how there was nothing about Eric that wasn't sexy, and I realized what I liked the most about him was the way he looked at me. It seemed as though he didn't even blink, which he probably didn't.

"Look at me, lover," he was constantly telling me to open my eyes and watch him, but it was like sensory overload that way. I couldn't look at him for too long without feeling I was going to lose all the control I had. Although, I suppose that's what sex is all about. You're supposed to let go.

So that's what I did. A primal urge filled me and without Eric having to tell me to, I leaned in and bit him in almost the same place I had before. I didn't break the skin but he yanked me off the desk without removing his hand from my pants. How he managed to hold me up the way he did without breaking his arm, I will never know. Human fingers would have been broken if they had to bend the way his did. It amazed me how vampires could be so stiff, but malleable at the same time. He was able to bend and move in ways that I couldn't, even though I'm a pretty flexible 'ol girl myself.

Somehow with me hanging off of him, he got my pants off, and when I looked up at him he leered at me. "My blood is on your chin." He growled at the sight of it, his fangs just inches from my throat.

"So come and get it." I challenged him, and he did.

Never challenge a vampire to anything. Trust me, no matter what, there is no way you can win. Well, except maybe a sunbathing contest. I think he might have been slightly put off by the fact that I didn't try to fight him off the way I had the first time we'd had sex. I'd made him wait for it until he was about ready to tear something apart. But this time, I knew what to expect, and I was ready for it. At least I thought I was.

Since he'd been so....delicate (at least for a vampire) with me last time, this time, I was in for a much rougher ride. He put me down on my feet, and with one hand he tore the side of my plain cotton panties. They were the kind you get in the six pack at Target. They were nothing fancy, so I didn't mind them being torn. Although, I wasn't crazy about the idea of going home later without them. Something about jeans without panties just didn't mix for me. But then, I was a fan of underwear. He turned me around so my back was against his torso, and his right hand was still moving between my legs. He tilted my head back so I had to look up at him. I closed my eyes for just a second, and in that time he'd bent his head to my exposed neck and bit me. For once, I growled, and my hand flew up to grab the back of his head, holding it to my neck.

But he knew when to stop drinking, and so when he'd taken enough, he pulled his head back. Tiny drops of my blood ran down my chest. It amazed me how blood didn't freak me out the way it used to. He removed his hand from between my legs and pushed me down onto the desk. I grabbed the other side of it because I knew what he was going to do next. As it was before, his aim was impeccable, only this time he was teasing me. He'd push just the littlest bit, and then pull back. He grabbed a handful of my hair, pulling my head back toward him so my back was arched in an almost painful way.

His mouth was incredibly close to my ear, and it was still strange to me that there was no breath to accompany the voice that had lowered some in his lust. "Do you want me?" Eric asked me, his hand still holding my hair.

"Yes," I gasped.

"Say it," he commanded.

"I want you," I said without hesitation, and his grip tightened on my hair as he pushed a little deeper inside of me.

"Say it again," he told me, tugging slightly on my hair.

"I want you!" I almost screamed, putting my hands on the desktop to support my back. It was starting to hurt, and not in a good way. Eric relaxed his grip on my hair as he pushed the rest of the way into me.

With my back able to relax again, I reached back and grabbed at his hips and legs, scratching him as I did so. Once again his hand moved around between my legs and moved the right way to make me start calling out his name. He sat down in the large leather chair, taking me with him. He turned me around so we were face to face, and he buried his face in my neck where he had bitten me before, and he licked at the blood that had started to dry while he rocked my hips back and forth.

It was getting so I could hardly breathe, and I felt a scream building in me. I was terribly thankful that the theater was empty, because I was quite sure if anyone else had been in the building they would have heard me moaning and gasping already. Anyone who didn't know better might think I was in terrible pain, but I was far from that. I was feeling the best I had in months. I was grunting and groaning with my mouth pressed against his throat, and I was tempted to bite him a second time. I didn't, but the thought was there, and I was having a hell of a time getting rid of it.

He stood once again and laid me back on his desk. He held my legs together and straight up in the air. He slowed his pace, once again teasing me. He surprised me by biting my leg. I had never been bitten there before, and it was a little more painful than other places I'd been bitten. But it still provided me with the same charge it always did. I worried that I would have strange scars on my legs. I know it sounds shallow and a little silly, but I've worked hard on making sure my legs look nice. They are always tan and smooth, and considering all the rough housing I did growing up with Jason, they're scar-free. I wanted to keep 'em that way on account of my tendency to wear dresses. Who wants to see a girl in dresses with legs that have been all tore to hell? Yuck.

I pushed that thought out of my mind and concentrated on the here and now, and in the here and now Eric had let go of my legs. He'd picked me up by my hips so that my rear end was a good six inches off the surface of the desk. Again I was grabbing onto the desk behind my head, my back arching at this crazy angle. Only this time it wasn't painful. For the life of me, I couldn't remember a single reason why I hadn't run directly to Shreveport after my break up with Bill to tell Eric that I was free. I had simply been denying the inevitable. And I thought Eric was the masochist. Man was I wrong.

I might have felt like a ragdoll if it weren't for the fact that Eric kept looking at me like he wanted to devour me. He stood up straight, and slammed me up against the wall, holding me up by my shaking thighs. It took me a minute to realize that we were levitating off the floor, and I was dangerously close to hitting my head on the ceiling. Well this was new, having sex in mid-air. Never did that with Bill. Guess I can cross that off my list of things to do in life. We were floating out toward the middle of the room when Eric thrust into me one last time, and I swear to God he felt like he was made of stone for a second. It was the strangest feeling in the whole world, but it made me shake all over.

We landed softly on the leather couch we had been sitting on earlier. Eric was on top of me, brushing my hair away from my face and kissing me gently. I kept waiting for him to say something, but he was kind enough to let me catch my breath, even though I was still twitching under him from time to time. My toes were all curled up, and I wasn't sure how long it would be before they'd go back to normal.

"Was it worth the wait?" I finally asked to let him know that I was doing just fine.

"You have always been worth the wait, my lover," he kissed the tip of my nose, and then snuggled against me. It would be difficult to be afraid of him ever again after a move like that.

* * *

Since it was a light-tight room, and vampires didn't need a clock the way us humans do in order to know the time, it came as quite a shock to me when I located my cell phone and found that it was almost noon. I was supposed to be at Merlotte's an hour ago! I scrambled to get my clothes on. I tried to call Sam, but I wasn't getting reception in Eric's giant hidey-hole. I don't know what time I finally went to sleep last night, or this morning, but it must have been pretty late. Then again, Eric did his best to wear me out. I found my jeans, bra and t-shirt. And put them on as fast as I could. My poor underwear was a casualty of war, but I figured Eric wouldn't mind having a souvenir, even though they weren't the sexiest of panties, so I left them on the floor where they'd fallen the night before.

I scrawled him a quick note, and then I realized I didn't know how the hell to get out of his hidey-hole. I looked for a button or some sort of release mechanism, but didn't see one. I moved books like they did in the _Addam's Family_ movies, but nothing happened. It might have helped if it weren't so damn dark in there, but there wasn't much I could do about that. I used my cell phone as a sort of makeshift flashlight, but the display kept going dark and clicking a button every thirty seconds started to get annoying. It took me almost a half hour, but finally I found the trigger. It was a tiny indentation on the baseboard the encircled the room, and I pushed it with my toe. The pocket door flew open, and I jumped out of the hidey-hole. I had no idea where Eric was, and I wasn't about to go back in to search for him. I dialed the number for Merlotte's, and Arlene answered the phone.

"Sookie, where are you? It's not like you to be late," Arlene lectured me like I was Coby and I'd missed dinner because I was out biking with my friends. .

"I know, I know. I got held up with something. Just tell Sam that I'm gonna be late," I apologized.

"How long are you going to be?"

I did the math in my head. I had to go home, and that would take at least a half hour. I had to shower, dress and then get my behind over to Merlotte's. My stomach was growling but I'd just have to go hungry until I could take a five minute break to shovel down some food. "At least an hour, maybe a little more than that."

"Aww Sookie..." she whined.

"I'm sorry, Arlene. I promise I'll be there as soon as I can." .

"Fine," her drawl was pronounced, "I'll let Sam know."

"Thanks. Bye!" I hung up the phone before she could ask me anything else. Then there was the problem of getting out of the theater. The doors were locked. "Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me!" I shouted in frustration.

"Can I help you?" A human appeared from behind me. In my frenzy, I hadn't noticed the extra brainwaves floating around me. The man in his late fifties was startled. _Oh dear, Mr. Northman is going to be so mad at me. No one is supposed to be in here until two._

"I was a guest of Mr. Northman's last night, and I'm afraid I don't have a key to get out."

_Ha! Mr. Northman has never had a guest. Besides, why would she have been in here so late? _

"If you don't believe me you can call over to Fangtasia. If you ask for Ginger, tell her that Sookie Stackhouse is here. She'll know who I am. She can vouch for me."

_Oh my! I'd forgotten about the note!_ "No, it's fine." The man pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, and handed it over to me. It was a note from Eric letting this man, whose name was Perry, know that I would need to be let out of the building at some point today. I smiled at the note and handed it back to Perry. He opened the door for me. "You have a nice day now, Miss Stackhouse." He nodded at me.

"Thank you, Perry. You do the same," I said sweet as peach pie, then hauled ass down the street to my car.

When I had parked it there the night before I hadn't bothered looking at the street signs, so I didn't pay attention to the fact that today was the day they did street sweeping on that side, and I got a ticket. Saying a few choice words that would've made Gran blush, I yanked it out from under my windshield . I dove into my car and peeled away from the curb nearly hitting a black Mazda as I entered traffic. Before I knew it I was on the rural roads that led me back to Bon Temps, and I was careful not to speed. I could maybe get away with it at night if I had a vampire with me. Bill had glamoured more than one police officer out of giving him a speeding ticket. That is, until he was pulled over by a vampire cop. That got Bill to hold back on the speeding a little bit.

As I rushed like a mad woman to get ready, I remembered I had to talk to Sam about switching my weekends off so that I could attend the Black & Red Ball this coming weekend. It wasn't a holiday weekend, thankfully, or I might have had a harder time getting him to agree with it. On holidays Sam preferred to have Arlene and me working. We were more responsible and we took fewer breaks. We could also be trusted to run things if he had to step out for some reason. Holly and Danielle were real sweet, but they were more interested in socializing with each other than they were with making sure everyone in the bar was taken care of.

I put on just a little bit of eye shadow and mascara before winding my long hair back into a bun at the nape of my neck. Thanks to the small amount of Eric's blood in my system I could not only move faster than usual, but there also wasn't a hideous scar on my neck from where he'd bitten me the night before. It was no secret that I'd had a vampire boyfriend, but since it was now common knowledge that Vampire Bill and I were on the outs, I didn't exactly want anyone to know that I'd hopped into the sack with another vampire.

I sped to Merlotte's to find the lot half full. It was busier than usual, and Arlene squealed with happiness when she saw me, where as Sam gave me the evil eye. He followed me back to his office, and before the door was even closed he was yelling at me.

"Just where in the hell do you get off showing up two hours late?"

"I'm sorry, Sam. I got stuck in Shreveport-" I stopped there when I saw him turning bright red.

"Shreveport? Why were you in Shreve-?" He shook his head, already sure he knew the answer to that one. "Aw Sookie, no! You just got Bill out of your system. Please don't tell me that you're seeing that _Viking_." He used the word 'Viking' as if it were dripping with poison. I suppose to Sam it was.

"That's none of your business, Sam Merlotte. What I do when I'm not at work isn't any of your business.!" I told myself to cool it since I needed a favor.

"Well it's my business when it starts affecting your ability to show up on time. You have never been late before, Sookie, not once in the six years you've worked here." He looked at me with eyes full of disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Sam. It won't happen again," I apologized, softening my tone.

"Just tell me that you're okay, and I don't need to worry." Sam relented, hanging his head, but keeping his concerned eyes on me.

"I'm more than okay, and I promise, you don't need to worry," I assured him, but I could see he wasn't exactly buying it.

He sighed heavily and said, "Alright. I'm gonna need you to stay the time you were late."

"Absolutely," I nodded dutifully, and he groaned in frustration.

"Sookie Stackhouse, you're going to be death of me one day, you know that, right?" He put an arm around me, and I was thankful to read from his brain that he really was relieved to know I was alright. I'd scared him quite a bit in the two hours I was missing.

"Don't jinx yourself, Sam." I smiled at him, and then scampered into the bar to take over my tables.

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**A/N:** FYI I won't be able to post again until at least Monday since tomorrow is my birthday and tonight is going to be an exercise in liver disaster. Pray for me lol

Thanks for reading!


	4. Please Let Me Get What I Want

My continued apologies for how OOC this is. I'm only posting the rest of this because of the readers who have been kind enough to ask after it. Personally, I hate this story. But, it's where I started. At least I can say I've grown since then.

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**Chapter Three: Please Let Me Get What I Want**

Sam was reluctant to give me the weekend off, just as I was reluctant to explain to him the very specific reasons I needed it off. He wasn't happy that I was spending time with Eric again, and he really wasn't happy that I was being pulled into vampire society. I tried to convince him that it wasn't my idea to go along to Sophie Ann's, but he didn't believe me. I was just about to give up when he decided he didn't have a choice. Really, he didn't. I wasn't going to come to work whether he gave me the time off or not. He could give it to me, and have the chance to find someone else to replace me, or I could call in sick, and leave him stranded at the last minute. At least this way he had a chance of getting someone to come in and cover me. I promised him that whomever took my shifts this weekend, I would take their next week, even if it meant having to work doubles. In the end, we worked it out, and I went home that night exhausted.

I wasn't at all surprised to see Eric waiting for me at my house. He was leaning up against his shiny black Corvette with his arms folded over his chest. The lights in my house were on, but that was because I had never withdrawn Eric's invitation into it. He opened my car door for me, and grimaced at the sound it made when it opened. "That sounds about as good as Pam's singing," he shook his head. That was the first time I'd ever heard him insult Pam in any capacity since I'd met him.

"I know. She's on her last legs." I shook my head and slung my purse over my shoulder.

Without warning he grabbed my head and kissed me, but I was in no position to complain about that. "Did you sleep okay?" he asked me.

I blushed a little and admitted, "Too good. I woke up and had no idea what time it was. I was more than two hours late for work."

"Bad girl," he clicked his tongue at me.

"I had help," my blush deepened as I remembered all the help his tongue had given me. I started to feel moisture pool on my thong, but I quickly scolded myself and tried to focus on the here and now. My voice might have sounded a little high pitched and forced as I asked, "So what are you doing here?"

"Dresses," Eric reminded me, making that word sound more sinful and sultry than I'd ever thought possible..

"That's right.," I sighed, remembering that Eric's appearance didn't automatically mean a night of wanton abandon. Stupid ball. I led Eric into the house with a lot less excitement than I'd been feeling 60 seconds ago.

"I hope you do not mind that I had them set up in your living room," he said casually, as his hand lifted and gestured to the three industrial sized clothes racks that filled up my Gran's sitting room. I gasped in amazement, I didn't think the two clothing stores in Bon Temps _put together_ had this much inventory.

Slowly circling the clothes, I looked over my shoulder to find Eric looking ever-so-cool as he leaned against a wall.

"This is a little much, don't you think? I could have just gone to the store," I realized then that it wasn't just ball gowns that were hanging on the racks, but other clothes as well. "I thought I just needed a dress for the Ball?"

"I thought you might be able to use some other things as well."

With some difficulty, I held back my temper at the insinuated insult at my personal wardrobe. Eric had gone to a lot of trouble after all, and looking at all the gowns I realized that it would cost me far more than I'd want to spend to buy the dress on my own. "What are you wearing to his event?" I looked up at him while running my hands over the various materials.

"Black." He said as if I should know exactly what that meant.

"Does that mean a tuxedo, a suit, body paint?" I asked for clarification.

"A suit. I don't like tuxedos. They look ridiculous on me." He explained, and I nodded.

"So I should wear red, then?"

"You do not have to, but I think this one would look stunning on you," he plucked a crimson red dress from the rack, and held it up.

It was a satin dress that would catch every single curve in my body. The neckline, if there even was one, looking like it would plunge almost to my waist, and there wasn't much of a back to the dress. The skirt seemed as if it would trail a bit behind me, and it was slit up both sides. It wouldn't leave much to the imagination, that's for sure. And while I appreciated Eric's enthusiasm for my body, I wasn't sure I wanted to display it in a room full of vampires. Even if I was under his protection.

"It's...nice." I gulped at the thought of having to wear that all night. Actually, knowing Eric, I would get that dress on and not five seconds later he would tear it off and have his way with me.

"I also liked this one quite a bit." He plucked another red gown from the rack, tossing the first one onto the couch as if it were an old newspaper.

This dress was less revealing. It reminded me of the dress that Kate Winslet wore in Titanic when she almost fell off the boat toward the beginning. The under layers of the dress were bright red while the light weight chiffon over it was inky black and beaded in a beautiful pattern. I would have to wear a corset or bustier underneath it, but I figured I could squeeze myself into one of those for the evening. In fact, if I remembered right, Bill had given me something that might just work underneath that dress. Damn if it didn't bug me how Bill popped into my mind at random moments.

"Oh Eric this is beautiful." I gasped as I looked at all of the intricate beadwork that had been done to the dress.

"Try it on." He instructed.

"Okay." I smiled at him, and he started to follow me to my bedroom. "No, no, no, you wait here or I'll never get this dress on." I kissed his cheek, and disappeared into my bedroom.

I looked through my closet to try and find the piece of necessary lingerie for such a dress, and found it in a box toward the back of the closet. I had packed away most of Bill's gifts after our breakup. First of all, I didn't need them anymore. I wasn't going to get dressed up in fancy lingerie and then go to sleep alone. I was more comfortable in my flannel nightgowns anyway, thank you. Second of all, it was just too painful to see them in my closet all the time. I got sick of them staring at me and judging me for what I'd done. So, I packed them away. But it was nice to see the small treasure trove of lacy delicacies that were being squirreled away.

Getting myself into that bustier required nothing short of a magician, but somehow I managed to do it with my own two hands. I carefully stepped into the dress, and then zipped it up the side. I was grateful the zipper was on the size. I just hoped that Eric wouldn't rip the dress off of me, because I planned on keeping it in my closet forever, even if I never wore it again after the ball. I found a pair of four inch red heels that looked quite nice. I hate to mention it, but Bill had called those my ifuck me/I pumps. I must admit, I agree with the name he gave them. I uncoiled my hair from the bun it had been in all day, and let it fall down my back in sprawling waves of gold. I removed my Gran's cross from around my neck, and found a black choker I'd bought to match another dress. I was careful to keep silver out of my bedroom, seeing as how it always gave Bill a blinding headache just by being in the same room.

"Close your eyes." I called out to Eric when I opened the bedroom door. I stepped into the hall and took slow steps toward the living room. I looked at myself in the full length mirror in the bathroom, and smiled at what I saw. I wasn't even as dolled up as I would be for the ball, and already I looked pretty damn good. "Okay, open your eyes." I said once I was standing a few feet away from Eric.

His eyes opened, and he smiled at me. He spun a finger indicating he wanted me to turn around. He was non-verbal. That was a good sign. Eric was never one to shy away from speaking up when something displeased him. Still, after a minute of him not saying anything, I started to worry that he didn't like it nearly as much as I did. He walked over to me and ran his hands down the sides of my torso, though I'm not sure why. Then he got to my hips, and started to bunch the material of the skirt up.

"What are you doing?" I looked down at his hands.

"Research," he said, but I had no idea what he was talking about. He let go of the material, and I just shook my head.

"So?" I held out my arms, waiting for him to give me a yes or no.

"I think we have a winner," he nodded.

"Good," I bounced up and down as much as a girl could in "fuck-me" heels. That was when he noticed the shoes I was wearing.

"You will be bringing those along with you, yes?" his fangs were exposed.

"If you want," I replied coyly.

"I want," he stared at me with that hungry expression in his eyes, and started toward me.

"Eric, wait! Wait! I have to take the dress off!" I squealed when he picked me up. He threw me over his shoulder like I was a rolled up carpet, and carted me toward my bedroom. I laughed the whole way there.

"Don't worry, lover, that dress is coming off," he promised me.

I slept late the next morning. Eric was long gone by the time I woke up, but the racks of clothes still remained in my living room. He'd left me a note telling me take what I wanted, and to call the number listed to have the rest of the items picked up. I went looking for price tags on things, since I wasn't expecting him to pay for anything other than the gown for the ball, but I didn't see a tag on anything. I tried on a couple of pairs of jeans, and found that they made my butt look great. I took a few pairs of those, but it was all of the sundresses that really got me going. If I had no restraint, I would have kept the entire rack's worth of them. I wondered how Eric knew what my size was, but then I remembered how I'd discarded my clothes in his hidey-hole the other night. I'm sure he'd had plenty of time to get my sizes off of those before retiring for the day.

I ran a few errands after that since there were things I would need for the trip to New Orleans, and I was running out of time. I didn't have to be at work until six, but time always moved quicker than I did. I got the things I needed for my trip, and stopped at the grocery store for a few things. For the first time in months, I even bought True Blood. I bought A Positive _and_ O Negative for Eric. What I had left over in my pantry from when Bill was around had gone bad, and it stunk up the house something awful when I emptied out the bottles. I'd left all the windows open in spite of the heat to air the house out. By the time I got home the smell had faded significantly, and I closed all the windows to turn on the air conditioner. It was just too hot not to run it, as much as I hated to.

I still had a few hours before I had to be at work so I hopped through the shower to get that out of the way. I packed what I could for the trip, trying to debate just how many changes of clothing I was really going to need. I was the kind who wanted to be prepared for any situation that might arise, but I also didn't want to show up with more bags than necessary. After I finished packing I French braided my hair, wondering what I was going to do with it for the ball, but I could figure that out later. Maybe Arlene still had some of her beauty magazines laying around her house that I could look through for ideas.

My shift at Merlotte's flew by much faster than it usually did. I'd decided before work that I was going to stop by Fangtasia before going home to thank Eric for all of the clothes he'd left for me. Before I left Merlotte's I went to Sam's office to change my clothes. I didn't want to walk into Fangtasia wearing my tiny summer uniform of barely there skin tight black shorts and a tiny white t-shirt. I seemed to attract enough attention from vampires without adding anything else to the mix. But since it was summer, and my legs were looking really good with all the sun I'd been getting, I wore a denim skirt and a red halter top. I exchanged my black high tops for a pair of red flip flops with cherries on them. I freshened up my makeup and took my hair out of the braid before leaving Sam's office.

Jason had come in while I was in Sam's office, and my appearance caught his eye. His little sister didn't normally dress this way, and he scrambled off his bar stool to talk to me. "Where are you going?"

"Shreveport." I said casually.

"Why?" he looked at me curiously.

"I have a meeting with Eric,." I shrugged, trying to keep my voice down.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea, Sook'. He seems like bad news to me. Besides, what would Bill think of you going to see him?" Jason insisted, and I could hear Sam behind the bar agreeing with my brother, even though he wasn't saying a word out loud.

"Jason, I made a deal with Eric, and I have to keep my end of it if I expect him to keep his" I pointed out to him.

"And what part of your deal requires you to walk in there looking like that?" Jason put his hands on his hips.

"Since when do you care what I do? Besides, you're the last person who should be lecturing me about who I spend time with." I shot back at him. "The only reason you don't like Eric is because he's a vampire." I said in a shouting whisper.

"Absofuckinglutely." He nodded emphatically. "One of these days, Sook, it's gonna get you killed, and you're the only family I got left."

I felt bad that he was concerned for me. "Jason, I promise, I'm going to be fine. Eric doesn't want to hurt me, and he won't let anyone else hurt me either."

"Oh yeah? So that's how come he almost got you blown up and raped in the last year, right? Not to mention that crazy ass Maenad that tore your back all up." Jason shook his head.

Jason had a point, and I could hear Sam mentally pleading with me to reconsider my decision to go away with Eric that weekend. "Jason, I'm gonna be fine." I leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Why don't you come by in the morning for breakfast?"

Jason looked me up and down. "Why don't you ever invite me to go along with you when you go to that bar?" He folded his arms over his chest.

"Because you'd hate it." I answered in the simplest way I could. "Jason, you've made it pretty clear that you aren't into vampires. I wouldn't need to be a telepath to figure that one out. Now it's one thing to say the things you say to me, but it's another to get caught running your mouth like you do in the middle of a vampire bar."

"Like I'd talk so they could hear me." He rolled his eyes.

"You'd be amazed at how good their hearing is. I bet if I wanted to, I could step right outside this bar and say Bill's name in a normal voice and he'd hear my just fine." I told my big brother, who was waving me off. "Jason, I have to go. Are you coming for breakfast tomorrow or not?"

"I'll be there at eight. You better be awake." He warned me.

"Or what?" I nudged him until he smiled.

"Or I'll turn the hose on ya." He shrugged.

"You'll do no such thing. I'll be there. Eight o'clock." I nodded, and then hugged him quick before walking out of the bar.

The back roads that led to Shreveport were deserted by the time I was driving on them. Fangtasia's last call was at four in the morning to ensure that vampires had plenty of time to make it to their resting place before sunrise. There weren't too many cars in the parking lot by the time I arrived. It was a work night, which meant that only the most desperate of fangbangers were on the premises. Pam was on door duty, and she smiled when she saw me approaching.

"Sookie," she nodded, and I handed over my cover to get into the bar, "Your money is no good here anymore." Pam arched an eyebrow at me making it clear that decision was not her idea. She was clearly not happy with the idea of her Master taking up a pet. "Does Eric know you're coming?"

"I wanted to surprise him," I shrugged with a smile. "Will you be at the Black & Red Ball?"

That got Pam's attention. "How do you know about that?" She looked at me like she was trying to read me. Maybe she was. I really didn't know what all of Pam's attributes were after being turnedknow if Pam could do something like that.

"Eric asked me to go along with him," I was surprised she didn't already know about that. I figured Pam knew just about everything there was to know about Eric.

Eric was the only man that Pam could tolerate for prolonged periods of time. The two of them seemed to function like a married couple, minus the sexual attraction. Although, I'm sure that if Pam ever changed her mind, Eric would find a brief encounter with Pam to be quite intriguing. Bill told me once that vampires don't generally get involved with one another, but their unions are pretty intense while they're on-going. Lorena, Bill's Maker, had been an exception to the rule. She wanted someone to be with her forever, and the only way to ensure that was to hook up with another vampire. I personally had no objections to that, so long as it wasn't _my _vampire she was attempting to woo.

There was something devious about the way Pam was smiling at me now, but I knew better than to ask her what was so funny. "Well, Eric is on duty this evening. Go on in." Pam lifted the red velvet rope to let me pass.

"Thanks Pam," I smiled at her as calmly as possible, and walked into the bar.

Stupid me, I forgot that it wasn't possible to surprise a vampire, and in the end, my vampire surprised me. He was dressed very similarly to the way he had two nights before, only now he was wearing a red silk shirt instead of a black one. Sometimes I wished his hair was still longer. It added this little bit of rockstar appeal to him, not that Eric really needed any more appeal.

"Lover," he rose my hand to his cool lips and kissed it, "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to come by and say thank you." I rose up on my toes to speak softly in his ear. I knew that every single vampire in the building probably heard what I just said, but I didn't care too much about that.

"Well, I am on duty for another hour. Would you like a drink?" He asked.

If there was one thing that Eric took very seriously, it was his business. In spite of how much of a hothead he could be sometimes, he was very good at what he did. He led by example, which I admired. He wasn't one of those do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do kind of bosses. So when he was on duty, he was on duty unless there was some sort of emergency that required his attention elsewhere. But I tend to think that he enjoys the attention from humans that he gets while he's in the bar. I think he likes the way they stare at him, trying to figure out how old he is, or what magical powers he might have. Some of the patrons that come into the bar are terrified, while others find the experience thrilling.

To tell the God's honest truth, I probably never would have had the guts to come in here if it weren't for the fact that Bill had come with me that first time. Although, when I think about it now, I wonder if maybe that was a mistake. Eric is bored easily with humans, but that has more to do with his age than it does with them. I guess if I'd been around for more than a thousand years, I might find college students to be dull as powder too. By the end of football season, I often feel the same way as Eric. Human beings are a tiring species.

We were just settling into an empty booth when I heard something coming from one of the human patrons that was disturbing. He was a fangbanger, and he was in need of an immediate fix. With Eric's blood in my system my sight had improved some. The fangbanger in question was only difficult to spot because it was so dim inside the bar. The later it got, the lower they turned the lights. Eric had very strict rules about feeding on humans in his bar. It was against the law to do such a thing, even if the person was willing to do it. Not to mention, there was always the possibility that something could go wrong, and then it was a big bloody mess. A mess that Eric didn't want to clean up, or explain, to law enforcement.

"What is it, lover?" Eric caught the concerned look on my face, and I pointed out the man on the other side of the bar.

"He's looking for someone to feed on him, and he wants to do it here." I warned.

Eric scanned the crowd, and he must have summoned someone because a vampire I recognized by the name of Sonja appeared. She bent to hear what Eric had to say, and then she went about removing the frenzied man from the bar. All it took was a little glamour, and he was willing to do whatever she wanted. Up until Bill had fed on me, I didn't quite see what the attraction was to being fed on. And sometimes, I still think it's the most bizarre practice in the world. But for the most part, I see it differently now. I realized that allowing a vampire to feed on me wasn't just some masochistic act. It required trust, first and foremost. A vampire that doesn't know when to stop is deadly, and so far, I know I've been lucky. But then there is also the bond that comes with allowing vampire to feed on you, and that bond gets even stronger if you feed on their blood in return. The thing is, I have never been in a situation where I was in the middle of doing laundry or washing dishes when I suddenly got the urge to let someone feed on me the way some of the fangbangers do. They're so horribly addicted to the rush that comes along with it that they need it the way a junkie needs cocaine. There were times when I worried that I would someday find myself included in that lot.

I hadn't realized it, but Eric had moved around to my side of the booth. He had a better view from there, but he also had put his hand up my skirt. I squirmed uncomfortably. I leaned closer to him and said, "I came here to thank you." I smiled at him.

"Stay still, and you will do just that." He's eyes glimmered at me.

Now how he expected me to stay still while he had his fingers in my panties, I have no idea. I was trying to think of everything I could think of not to concentrate on that, but man...well, you try it. If you can think of something that works, then please let me know, because I had nothing. I put my hand in Eric's lap, and I felt him tense up in return. I was about to test his no biting policy big time. He smiled at me the same way Pam had before I walked into the bar. I felt my body starting to tense up under the pressure of Eric's hand, and I turned my head so that my face was buried in the sleeve of his jacket.

What I wanted to do was pull him into his office, rip off his clothes and do all sorts of dirty things to him. Unfortunately, we were stuck at that table for at least another forty-five minutes. This was payback for that night on my porch, I was sure of that now. I might have won the battle, but Eric was about to win the war. I gasped into his sleeve, my body going limp against his. But I surprised him by biting his arm through his jacket. I didn't bite hard enough to draw blood, because that would have attracted every vampire in the place to find out what was wrong with their sheriff.

When he withdrew his hand from under my skirt, I picked it up and put his fingers in my mouth. I looked him in the eyes as I did this, and I watched his fangs extend with a smile on my face. I was learning from the Master, so to speak. I looked at my watch again, and then leaned into him.

"Forty two minutes to go." I kissed the palm of his hand, and then moved around to the other side of the booth.


	5. Looking For Love

*cringes* Here you go...

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**Chapter Four: Looking For Love**

I was laying out in my yard the day we were leaving for New Orleans, trying to get as much extra color as I could. I was feeding a vampire again, and it was taking its toll on me. I'd started taking the supplements I'd been taking when I was seeing Bill. I'd cut garlic from my diet, which isn't as hard as you'd think it would be. The good thing about Eric was that because of his age, he didn't need as much blood as Bill did. He could get by just a few drops and be fine. His color was picking up, while mine seemed to be fading. Eric planned to be at my house a few minutes after sundown, so at just after four I went into the house to shower and get ready to go. I was all packed for the trip. I made myself a salad for dinner, and ate slowly at the kitchen table. I had no way of knowing who my dinner companions were going to be for the next couple of days, although I will admit, I was curious.

Eric had been able to give me this little itinerary that Sophie Ann had her human staff compile for all interested parties that would be at the mansion for the weekend. There were ten sheriffs in Louisiana from what Eric had told me, which meant there would be at least ten humans milling about the mansion. We were given name tags to wear at all times that displayed which sheriff we belonged with so we weren't confused for the fangbangers Sophie Ann kept on hand for her regular feedings. Those humans weren't considered part of our group, and wouldn't be eating with us. They would be attending the Black & Red Ball, according to Eric, but as appetizers. Bet you've never been to a party like that before either. I know I haven't.

While I had my reservations about whether or not this was a good idea, I had given my word, and if nothing else, I was curious to see how this was going to play out. Even if the ball itself was terrible, I got to spend three days in New Orleans doing whatever I wanted to do. I could spend some time in the French Quarter, if I wanted to, or I could simply lounge around the mansion reading or watching movies. Each bedroom had its own bathroom and cable television. I had one television in my whole house, and I'm sure it wasn't nearly as fancy as the set up at Sophie Ann's place. She's a queen, for crying out loud.

I was sitting on my porch steps watching the sun sink below the horizon, counting down the minutes until Eric arrived. It amazed me how much sharper my senses were when I had vampire blood in my system. I could hear the rumble of his car long before I should have been able to. I went back into the house and made sure the lights were off and windows were locked. I had my lights set on a time, and Sam had promised he would come do a sweep for me when he shifted to make sure that everything was the way it should be. If anything went wrong at my house, he had my cell phone number, and he could always get in touch with Jason pretty easy. I stepped out of the house as his car came to a stop. I locked my front door, and ended up slamming into Eric when I was turning toward the front steps.

I screamed a little bit, but then I laughed. "I hate it when you do that." I shook my head, clutching my chest to get my heart rate to return to normal.

"Sorry, lover." He put his big hand on top of mine, feeling my heart beat.

"Sometimes I think you do that on purpose." I lowered my head and kissed the back of his hand.

For the first time I could recall in a long time Eric was wearing jeans. I felt slightly overdressed now. I figured the reception at the Queen's mansion would be fancier than jeans and t-shirts. "You're meeting a vampire queen, not the Queen of England." Eric looked me up and down.

"Well I can go in and change if you think I should." I offered.

"You look lovely." He responded, and then maneuvered my hand so that our fingers were laced together. I noticed then that my bags were gone.

"My bags." I said absently.

"They're in the trunk." He winked at me, and then tugged me along down the steps.

I was wearing a white dress with pairs of cherries on it, and my little white heels I'd worn the first time I'd slept with Eric. In fact, I'd worn those shoes the whole time we were in bed together. Well, until I passed out and Eric took them off for me. He opened the passenger's side door of his car for me, and held my hand as I got into the car. I had never ridden in a car with Eric before when he was driving. This was sure to be an experience I would never forget. No sooner was my door closed, than he was around the car and sitting next to me. The car started, and I was pleasantly surprised by the vibrations of the engine in my seat. He was listening to music that I thought was a little too mellow for someone of his persona. I expected him to be listening to metal or at least very loud rock music.

"What are we listening to?" I asked him after turning down the volume just a little bit. While it wasn't metal, he did have it turned up pretty loud.

"It's an Icelandic band called Sigur Ros." He told me.

"I've never heard of them." I shrugged, and smiled bashfully. There were lots of things in the world I'd never heard of. For all of my knowledge of the Supernatural World, my knowledge of the regular world is, well...limited, by comparison to most people's. "What are they saying?"

"It is difficult to translate because it's not just Icelandic that is being spoken here." Eric said without taking his eyes off the road, or his foot off the gas pedal. The music continued to build until it was a blur of screeches and other things, but they were beautifully put together.

"What is the name of the song?" I asked him.

He said something in Icelandic that he knew I couldn't understand. "Good Weather For Air Strikes is what it translates to." He said as he drove. "The last line of the song translates pretty easily, and it's my favorite line in the song."

"What is it?"

"The best thing God has created is a new day." He finally looked over at me.

We'd never had a theological discussion before, but I tend to think that most vampires have a difficult time believing in God the way humans do. But of course, there were those few who remained devout to their human faith. "That's beautiful." I smiled at Eric, who was already looking at the road again. "Do you believe in God?"

Eric turned off the music, and glanced over at me as if he was carefully considering his answer. "I was not a Christian when I was a human, and I am not sure if I have ever believed in the power of some higher being." Eric told me, but I kept silent since I had a feeling there was more to it than that. "But in all of my time in the world I have seen entire civilizations tear each other to shreds in attempts to prove their devotion to a God that may, or may not exist. I don't suppose there is a way to really know the truth of that matter until after you are dead. I will not know of God until my final death." _Fair enough_, I thought to myself. "That isn't to say I haven't been witness to a few things in my time that I would consider to be miraculous."

"Such as?" I was really curious now.

"Most recently would be back in the late 60s. I took up with a commune in California not far from where Charles Manson's Family was living. They were good people, mostly, just a little too lost in their own trip, as they liked to say. They were always on LSD or mushrooms, trying to reach this new spiritual plane by spending hours taking psychedelics and staring up at the sun. It was a practice that I, myself, could never take up, but it didn't stop them from doing it. Well, one of the hippies spent too long out there in the sun and burned his retinas pretty badly. Doctors told him there was no way he would ever get his sight back. But, the experience was a wake up call to get off the drugs. I saw him five years later, and he could see again. His vision wasn't perfect, but he could see." Eric told me. I would have suggested the man had some sort of corrective surgery, but I don't think they had Lasick back then. "Then there was a baby that had been born stillborn. I was living in Ireland then. The baby didn't have a heartbeat, and it never cried. The custom back then was to leave the infant's body out for a viewing, and it was placed on this alter for the duration. In the middle of the night, the infant suddenly started to kick and scream. Its poor mother almost had a heart attack right on the spot. A doctor was called in, as was a priest, and the baby was pronounced healthy. He went home with his mother, and grew up to marry and have eight children of his own."

"That's amazing." I wasn't sure of what else to say, since I wasn't quite sure if I'd ever witnessed a miracle before.

Just the idea that Eric was even opening up to me about the life he had long before there was even a possibility of a Sookie Stackhouse was a little surprising to me. But I would take whatever I could get. For Bill, talking about his life after being turned was pretty difficult. He could talk about his wife and children before The War, but anything after that became pretty touchy for him. I was starting to realize that one of the many major differences between Bill and Eric was that Eric had accepted his non-human status. That didn't mean he had to be a barbarian, but he just simply wasn't human anymore. Bill, on the other hand, was still struggling to deal with that fact in spite of the almost 150 years since he'd been turned.

"If you are tired you might want to rest now. It will be a long night once we reach the mansion." Eric warned me.

The drive from Bon Temps would take the average person between five and six hours. Eric had an extreme case of lead foot, and was going close to a hundred miles an hour. While I was scared to be going so fast, I also trusted that he would make sure I arrived in New Orleans safely. Before I knew it we were on I-49, headed southeast toward New Orleans. I tended to get sleepy on long roadtrips on open highways, and when Eric turned Sigur Ros on again, I found myself drifting off easily. He barely had to have the music on to hear it, and I found it to be quite soothing. The Corvette was a beautiful car, but it wasn't very smooth. More than once it bounced me from my slumber, but I just adjusted my position in the car, and went back to sleep. At one point, my eyes opened and I found myself cuddled next to Eric. Whether I had done that myself, or Eric had moved me, I didn't know.

"Wake up, lover. We have arrived." Eric spoke softly, and my eyes fluttered open. He was half smiling at me. "You talk in your sleep."

"No I don't." I said with embarrassment.

"Yes you do." He argued. "You mumbled something about me being the best you ever had."

I blushed for a second before I realized he was putting me on, but my blush completely betrayed any instincts I would have had to argue his point. "I hate you." I said flatly, and turned to get out of the car. Eric was already standing outside my door, and he opened it for me.

Eric reached in for my hand, and helped me out of the car. My legs and rear end were a little numb from sitting for so long. I looked around Eric at the massive house behind him, and my jaw dropped. He'd called what Sophie Ann lived in a mansion. To me, it darn near looked like a palace. It was absolutely gorgeous, and I wasn't even inside yet. There were no other cars in the driveway, and I wondered if we were the first to arrive, or if the rest of them were stowed away someplace. But without my own car, I wondered how I was going to get around for the rest of the weekend. I certainly didn't expect Eric to let me drive his car. Heck, I wouldn't have felt comfortable with that. If something happened to it, I would hate to have to be the one to tell him about it, that's for sure.

The doors to the mansion opened as we were walking across this marble bridge that led from the driveway to the doors. There was this pool of water running along the front of the house. I guess you'd call that a mote, but I had no idea anyone actually would have one in front of their house. Then again, Sophie Ann isn't your average person, and not just for being a vampire either. Identical twin vampires stood on either side of the door. They each had dark hair, very muscular bodies and the darkest eyes I'd ever seen. Their eyes were cold, which was what alarmed me more than anything. They didn't speak when we walked in, but they both nodded to Eric respectfully, so I assumed they knew we were invited guests. I'm guessing not many intruders get onto Sophie Ann's property without becoming a snack, at the very least.

I tried to keep my mouth closed as we entered the house. Everything was marble from floor to ceiling. My heels clicked on the floor as we walked along, and I looked around with wide eyes. It was hard to believe Sophie Ann lived there. Eric led me down a hallway that was all marble just as the entry way had been. Delicate glass sconces sent light sparkling around the room, and chandeliers hung from the high ceilings, dropping down every ten feet or so. I thought the hallway was never going to end. When it finally did, we were in a room as bright as if it were the middle of the day. There was a pool in the middle of the room, and fake plants were arranged all around the room.

A strikingly beautiful woman was arranged on an antique chaise lounge as if she belonged in a movie from the 1930's. Her hair was coppery red, and finger-waved away from her face. Her lips were bright red, and her eyes were even bluer than Eric's. She was pale, but in a beautiful kind of way. It looked to me as if she were the kind of woman who wouldn't even need to be a vampire to glamour men into giving her whatever it was she wanted. Then she opened her mouth to speak, and I was taken aback. She had a kind voice, which I hadn't been expecting. I don't know why, but I had been expecting something high and screeching. Not Sophie Ann. Her voice was inviting and welcoming.

"Sheriff." She nodded to Eric once we were standing before her.

"Your Highness." He took her waiting hand and kissed the back of it. "May I present Miss Sookie Stackhouse."

"You may," she looked to me, and I felt my heart leap into my throat. I was used to dealing with Eric, and I was pretty sure of what to expect from him in any given situation. The same could not be said of Sophie Ann. "Miss Stackhouse, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I have been hearing many things about you for some time now." She extended her hand to me. I wasn't sure if she expected me to kiss it or not. Eric hadn't bothered going over these sorts of procedures with me in the car. I was cursing him in my head.

"Likewise." I took her hand, but I didn't kiss it. She wasn't my queen. "You have a lovely home."

"Thank you. I just redid this room last quarter." She looked around with admiration on her face. "This is the closest I shall ever get to sunlight, unless I decide to meet the sun."

"One shouldn't joke of such things." Eric didn't find that dig at Godric to be funny, although I'm not sure that was the way Sophie Ann intended it to be.

My grip tightened on Eric's hand, since I could feel tension coming off of him in waves. "How was your trip here?" Sophie Ann looked at me, ignoring Eric's wounded ego.

"It was nice. I was able to get some rest during the drive." I told her. She was looking at me closely, deciding whether or not I was living up to all of the hype that preceded me.

"Delightful." Sophie Ann said absently, and reached out to touch my dress. I was tempted to fidget out of her way, but what good would that have done me? She would have caught me before I finished moving. "So, you are Eric's companion now, yes?" Sophie looked back and forth between Eric and I.

Here it was, the moment I'd known would come. Saying yes guaranteed me his protection, but denying him could leave me to myself in a houseful of hungry, not to mention horny, vampires. I looked up at Eric who actually looked a little nervous. I cleared my throat and said, "Yes, I am. I am his." I smiled at Sophie Ann, who immediately looked to Eric to see if his expression had changed.

"How nice for you both." She said after just a moment of silence passed to let the words sink in. She folded her arms over her chest, and with a devilish smile said, "I hope that won't come as a shock to Mr. Compton." Eric's gaze went to Sophie Ann, and I heard his fangs extend in his mouth, but he didn't growl at her.

I was as shocked, and also instantly furious. How did Bill get onto the guest list without Eric finding out about this? I thought Eric knew everything his vampires were up to, and the last I checked, Bill was still under Eric's rule. Or was this some sort of game the Queen was playing? Vampires are so damn confusing! I let go of Eric's hand then, and Sophie Ann smiled at the dissension happening in front of her. If Bill was on the guest list and Eric didn't tell me...man oh man was he gonna get it.

"Retract your fangs, Sheriff. You won't be needing them...yet." She looked over to me. "Don't worry, sweetheart, nothing a little glamour can't fix, right?" Sophie Ann shrugged at me, and I smiled smugly in return.

If she didn't know I couldn't be glamoured, I wasn't about to offer that information. "Right." I nodded.

"Well, I'm sure you two would like to get cleaned up. Abbie will be your assistant for the weekend. Anything you need, she will be happy to provide for you." Sophie Ann snapped her fingers and a shapely brunette appeared from out of nowhere.

"This way please." Abbie curtsied at us, and I started stomping after her.

Childish? You betcha, but I was pissed. Eric put his hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged him off. We were going to have words, but not until we reached my assigned room. If he thought there was a chance in hell he was going to spend any time getting frisky with me in my light-tight room, he was sore mistaken. iI should have listened to Sam./I, I said to myself as Abbie led us through the mansion to my room.

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If you're still reading this, I should be sending **you** reviews to tell you how much I appreciate it, because I do.


	6. Waiting For This Day to End

**Chapter Five: Waiting For This Day To End**

I'm quite certain that the room I was giving in Sophie Ann's mansion was on parr with some of the best hotel suites in the world. The only thing missing was a view. To make up for that, however, there was a beautifully hand-painted mural on the wall. I stared and stared, trying to figure out just what I was looking at. It seemed so familiar, and yet, I couldn't place it. As if he were reading my mind, Eric stepped up behind me and said, "That is the Gothic Quarter in Spain." He kissed my hair, and I shrugged him off. I was still pissed. "What troubles you, lover?" He asked innocently, which only made me more angry. He knew damn well what was itroubling/I me, and I was pretty sure he'd known all along I was walking into a lion's den.

"Okay, please tell me that you haven't suddenly developed Vampire Dementia, or something like that?" I stood with my feet planted, and my hands on my hips. He was _smiling_ at me. He thought I was cute! "Don't you smile at me, Mister." I said in a tone of warning.

"You are upset because Bill is here, yes?" Eric's smile faded, but he didn't look concerned or regretful.

"Duh." It was the most obvious human response I could summon at that moment, but all it did was make him smile again.

"Sookie, do not worry about Bill. He is of little concern to us anymore." He waved his hand dismissively.

"Maybe not to you, but I actually care about his feelings." I stomped across the room and began to unpack my things.

"Why? You are no longer his."

"That doesn't mean that I don't care about him." I unzipped one of my bags.

"Well if you care for him than why are you not still together?" Eric asked me.

"Because I'm not in love with him anymore." I said without looking at Eric. I don't know why, but my voice was cracking, and I was about to start crying.

I think maybe it was because that was the first time I'd said those words out loud, and it almost felt like it was someone else's voice hearing them. I'd never been in a situation like this before. Bill was first man I'd let into my life in an intimate kind of way, and I didn't know what the proper procedure was for dealing with someone you used to share you bed with. At that moment I missed Gran more than I had in a long time. I wished I could call her and tell her what had happened. She would know what to do. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine what the conversation would have sounded like, but in my mind, she wasn't such a big fan of Eric. I'd been trying to get her to see his charm, but there was something about my imaginary Gran that was taking Jason and Sam's side of the argument.

"If you do not love him, then why are you crying?" Eric wiped at my tears with his thumbs.

"I didn't say I didn't love him. I said I wasn't _in_ love with him. There's a difference." I glared at Eric, who looked supremely clueless. "Oh come on, Eric! You're more than a thousand years old. Don't tell me you've never been in love before."

"Only once." He was staring straight at me, and my heart skipped a beat.

Gran always told me not to go assuming things because it makes an ass of you and me, and I had to stop myself before I starting thinking that Eric was talking about me. "Did you know that Bill was going to be here this weekend?"

"Her Majesty is under no obligation to share her guest list with me, Sookie. I did not know that Bill would be here. My deepest apologies for this unexpected blemish on your weekend." Eric picked up my hand and kissed the back of it.

I took my hand back and then I hugged him. I'd never done that before. There was something about Eric that just didn't scream, "I like cuddles." In fact, for the longest time, I was pretty sure he only wanted contact with another person, human or vampire, for only two reasons: sex or horrible, violent, bloody death. And since I hadn't wanted either of those things from him, I had done my best to steer clear of him. I think he was actually surprised that I was hugging him, and I wondered how long it was since someone had done something like this. When was the last time someone just walked up to Eric and gave him a hug? The thought was both saddening and a little funny at the same time.

It was moments like those when it was painfully obvious he didn't have a beating heart, and that was one of the things that was harder to get used to. It was strangle to roll over next to someone in bed at night, and not feel their pulse at various points in their body. If Eric's eyes weren't open, or he wasn't speaking, he looked like he was dead. His chest didn't rise and fall since he didn't breathe. He didn't usually squint since his eyes adjusted so much quicker to light. There are a million other differences between him and a human. The fact that Eric wasn't a snuggler was way far down on the list.

It's hard to tell when a vampire is relaxed, since they generally feel a like they're made of stone at just about any given point. I didn't look up at Eric, so I couldn't tell if this kind of contact was making him uncomfortable, but he didn't push me away. I'm not sure how long we stood there for like that with my arms wrapped around his large frame, and my head pressed to his chest where his heartbeat should be.

"Are we finished fighting now?" Eric asked me after a while.

"You tell me." I looked up at him, but didn't remove my arms from around his waist.

"If it were up to me, we would not fight in the first place. Fighting over things as trivial as emotions are pointless." He told me.

"Is that so?" I arched an eyebrow at him.

"A person feels the way they feel. If you have feelings for Bill, there is nothing I can do to erase them." He put his fingertips under my chin to make sure I was looking at him. "They are a part of you, and so they are beautiful. Even if I do not understand them."

_Way to make a girl's heart melt, Eric_, I said with pride in my own head. He put both hands under my arms and picked me up to kiss me. I recalled my first big fight with Bill after my Uncle's body had been found. What a night that had been for me. I walked around with my head in the clouds for days after that. "How much time do we have before we have to go back down for the reception?" I asked Eric.

He didn't have to look at a clock to know the answer to that. "Another hour or so." He was still holding me up in the air like I was an infant he wanted to toss and make faces at.

"Good." I smiled, and kissed him again.

"Wait here." He set me down, and disappeared into the bathroom.

I went about unpacking, wondering what he was doing in the bathroom. I hadn't even been in there yet. I was sure it would be just as opulent as the rest of my room. Whatever Eric was doing, it was taking a little too long. When he finally emerged from the bathroom, he took the clothing out of my hands and put it on the bed. He led me to the bathroom, and there were candles circling a large tub full of warm water and bubbles. I was a little surprised. I wouldn't have pegged Eric as the type who liked bubble baths.

"You did this for me?" I looked to him.

He nodded but didn't speak. He stood behind me and unzipped my dress. I wanted to argue that we didn't have time for this. I was pretty sure that tardiness wouldn't be permitted. Sophie Ann looked like the kind of woman who ran a tight ship, and I'm sure she didn't get to where she was by being late, or allowing her underlings to be late either. But that dress was off in no time flat, as were the rest of my clothes. I piled my hair on top of my head because getting it wet would cause all sorts of trouble, and secured it with the band I almost always had around my wrist when I left my hair down. Eric was undressed even faster than I was, and was already sitting in the tub before I could get in it. He was stretched out in a relaxed sort of pose, and his feet were propped up on the other end where I had assumed I would be sitting.

"And just where am I supposed to sit with you laying in there like a beached wale?" I leaned over the tub, and his eyes sparkled.

I didn't take my eyes from his as I stepped into the water. It was a little cooler than I thought it would be, but what use does a vampire have with a warm bath? You could throw one in a pot of boiling water, and I doubt it'd make a difference. It might be a little uncomfortable, but that's about it. Still, the thought of such a gross thing made my skin crawl. Why do I always think of morbid things like this when I should be enjoying myself? I sat on Eric's legs, which was clearly not what he had intended when he'd gotten into the tub first. But that didn't stop him from picking me up and moving me where he wanted me. It was then that I realized just how turned on I got by fighting with Eric. If I hadn't been, I would have been in an awful lot of pain.

"I don't think this is what Sophie Ann had in mind when she told us to get cleaned up." I bent and kissed Eric. He smiled at my small joke, his hands on my hips.

It was a cramped fit in the tub, but totally worth it. His hands snaked all over the place, and for a while, it seemed like he had more than two of them. I was starting to figure out that Eric was also big on kissing. Didn't matter where. Believe me, I'm not complaining. I might have if he wasn't so good at it, but man...I'll tell you something, I could probably have an orgasm just from kissing him. He's that good. You don't just get there overnight either. That takes some practice. But I try not to think about how many women he's had to kiss to get this good. Although, it's not really fair to hold a vampire to the same standards as a human, considering our differing life spans. Again with those random thoughts. I don't know where they come from. I guess it's what happens when I don't have another brain competing with my own to be loudest one in the room.

Since I have that habit of closing my eyes when things start getting a little too intense for me, I wasn't paying attention to the amount of water that was sloshing out of the tub. At least not until I heard the sizzling of the candles being put out. And then one second my hands were on Eric's chest, and the next they were on the edge of the tub. Eric was suddenly behind me. I was tempted to tell him that this was the one time when super speed was not a good thing, but I figured it was best to keep my mouth shut, and just enjoy the moment. I was bent just the slightest bit forward, but he pulled me upright. My legs were between his, and the water in the tub was sloshing back and forth against my stomach.

I liked the feeling of his mouth on my neck and his hand between my legs while he gyrated behind me. For a second, his arms actually felt warm around me when he brought them up around my chest. I don't know if he intended for it to be a hug or not, but if it was, it was the best hug I'd ever gotten, and I almost started to cry. My body was all slippery from all of the soap in the water, although it didn't seem to effect his body at all. He nipped at my ear, and I turned my head back to kiss him. It wasn't until then that I found out he'd bit me. I could taste blood on his tongue, but I had no clue where he'd bitten me. That scared me a little bit. I didn't mind him biting me, necessarily, I just wanted to know when he was going to do it. That's the sort of thing you have to keep track of if you're going to be feeding a vampire on a regular basis. Not that I thought Eric would ever try to hurt me. Funny how that's changed, isn't it?

Apparently Eric was in no rush to get out of that tub, although I was concerned about the amount of time we were spending in there. I didn't want anyone being sent to summon us out of the room. How embarrassing would that be? Sensing my anxiety, Eric turned my face toward his. "Just relax." He said softly, and kissed me some more.

_Oh that's the good stuff_, I thought to myself, and just turned my brain off. I just went with the flow, so to speak, and before I knew it we were back in the same position we had started out in. I was gasping for air, and nibbling at the inside of Eric's wrist when he put his hand on my throat. His other hand on was on chest, feeling my heart pump harder than usual. And then I exploded from the inside out at the same time he made that final growl he always made when he was as spent as I was. I threw my head back and cried out. I was breathing hard when I fell against him.

"I think we should fight more often, my lover." Eric told me, and then attacked me with kisses.

o.O.o.O.o

I wasn't even finished dressing yet, when Eric was urging me to get moving. "You told me to relax! I knew we shouldn't have gotten in the tub." I said as I zipped up my dress, and again, he was laughing quietly at me. "I'm glad you think it's funny when I get upset. Jerk." I bent to pick up my shoes, and before I know what was happening, Eric had picked me up and was carrying me out of the room. "Put me down!" I pounded on his back with my free hand, but the only one I was hurting by doing that was myself.

"This way is much faster. You humans are so slow." He slapped my butt. Not hard mind you, but it made me yelp all the same.

Thankfully he put me down before we got to the room where the reception was being held so I could put my shoes on. I smoothed my hair out, and made sure my dress was straight. It was while I was getting dressed a few minutes earlier that I figured out where Eric had bit me, and it was starting to sting a little now. I would have to remember to be careful how I moved my arms for the rest of the night.

Eric bent so that his mouth was right by my ear, and he said, "Du er den vakreste her, min elsker." _You are the most beautiful one here, my lover._ I smiled because it just sounded sexy coming out of his mouth. He'd never spoken to me that way before, and I found I liked it. "It means-"

I put a hand up to his mouth. "I don't want to know." I couldn't stop smiling.

He put his large hand on the small of my back, and led me into the same room we had been in before when we'd first arrived. There had to be somewhere around forty people in the room, not including the Queen and her servants. There were 'appetizers' making the rounds in the room. Fangbangers with their blood lineage scrawled on their name tags. Interesting. I never would have thought that Italian blood tastes differently than Chinese blood, but to a vampire there's a huge difference. I guess that makes sense. I stood close to Eric, but I didn't hang on him the way some of the other humans seemed to be hanging on their vampire companions. I looked around the room, taking in the decorations and the beautiful stained glass in the ceiling of the room. It looked like a summer sky, but I knew it was just lights behind it that gave the appearance of sunshine. Not only was it close to three in the morning by now, but if it really were sunshine, I'd be in a room full of humans wondering where their vampire counterparts had disappeared to.

"Sookie, I would like you to meet Constance Leiberman. She is sheriff of Area 2." Eric yanked me back into reality.

"Hello Constance." I nodded to her, since shaking hands wasn't a custom most vampires embraced.

"So you are Sookie Stackhouse?" She gave me a lusty stare, and my breath caught for a second. I wasn't expecting that one bit.

"Yes, I am." I nodded, and looked up at Eric.

"She glows, this one." Constance seemed to be looking deep inside of me, although just what she was seeing, I wasn't entirely sure.

"Indeed she does." Eric agreed, and kissed my hand.

"She is yours then?" Constance looked back and forth between us.

"I am." I leaned against Eric, but I didn't clutch on him.

"Pity that." Constance clicked her head.

There was a growl coming from behind us, and I didn't have to turn around to know who's it was. I closed my eyes and my chest just deflated. This was not how the weekend was supposed to go. This was not how it was supposed to go at all.


	7. 90Mile Water Wall

I haven't had a chance to respond to all of the reviews that have come in for the chapters I posted, but I do appreciate them. I'm glad you're all enjoying this. Thanks for reading it!

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**Chapter Seven: 90-Mile Water Wall**

So there I was stand-off between Eric and Bill, both of them with fangs bared, and ready to fight. I had one hand on each body, and I knew through the Bonds I shared with both of them they could feel my anxiety, Eric more so than Bill. "This is not the time, or the place, boys." I looked back and forth between them, but I might as well have hit them on the snout with a rolled up newspaper. Egos were involved here, and while it wasn't usually Bill's style to get in a pissing contest over his pride, I was a sore spot for him. Seeing me with Eric did little to ease that pain, I'm sure.

Bill was the first to move forward, which was a big mistake. "Bill, don't!" I tried to push him back, but that was just futile.

"Retract your fangs. Now." Sophie Ann stepped up and intervened. Eric complied with this request immediately. "Mr. Compton, I do not like having to repeat myself." Sophie Ann was staring at me with amusement on her face. She, better than anyone in the room, knew how close the two vampires I was touching had come to tearing each other apart. "Now if you boys can't play nice, I will have no choice but to send you to bed without supper." Sophie Ann looked at Eric and said, "But something tells me you have already eaten."

Bill growled again, but that just earned him a dirty look from Sophie Ann. "My apologies, your majesty." He said immediately.

"Good boy. Now, Sookie, would you care to join me in the testosterone free section of the room?" Sophie Ann held out her hand like we were at recess.

"Can you two be trusted to play nice?" I looked at Eric, who nodded. "I would love to, your Majesty." I took Sophie Ann's hand, and allowed her to lead me across the room.

You can't have the same normal conversation with a vampire that you would with a human you've just met. The most obvious topic of conversation, even though it's as dull as powder, is the weather. But there isn't much to talk about when all a vampire ever sees is night. But Sophie Ann didn't waste any time getting to the point. "I have been told you are a telepath." She said to me.

"Yes, that is true." I agreed.

"Would you care for something to drink?" She asked me as we approached a bar that had been set up for humans.

"Just water." I said, and a vampire bartender handed me a glass of water in record time. "Thank you." I smiled at him, and he just nodded in return.

"I take it Eric told you that I requested your presence at this party." She walked with her arm looped through mine as she were my date.

"He did." I agreed again.

"Aren't you wondering why I asked to meet you?"

"I've learned it's better if I don't ask too many questions." I confessed.

"Clever girl." She said in a flirty sort of way, and for a moment I thought she might kiss my cheek.

"With all due respect, your Majesty-"

"Call me Sophie." She waved at me in a grand sort of way.

"With all due respect, Sophie, why did you summon me?" I asked her as politely as I possibly could.

"Well, two reasons. First, I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. When I recruited William to do some work for me last year, he was rather hesitant to leave you. Of course, I'd heard of you long before that, thanks to Eric, and the work you'd done for him. And then, of course, there was that unfortunate matter of William staking that relic thief of a vampire for his human companion. We don't get much of that in our circle." Sophie leaned in to tell me that last bit, as if I didn't know that already. "It spread like wildfire when word got out that you'd traded in the young Civil War vampire for the more experienced Viking. If I were still into men, I might be jealous of you."

I wasn't sure how to feel about her insinuation that I had simply traded Bill in. It was a little more complex than that, but leave it to a vampire to strip a situation down to its bare bones. "No one is jealous of me." I said with a slight laugh.

Sophie looked at me like I was crazy. I was used to that look. "Maybe not humans, but there are definitely a few vampires in this room that would love to be in your shoes. A few bangers as well." Blocking out the minds of the fangbangers in the room was already exhausting, and I hadn't been in the room for half an hour yet. "What's it like to have the brains of another person mixing with yours all day?" Sophie asked me.

No one had ever asked me that before. Most people were reluctant to believe I was anything other than crazy or retarded. Outside of the vampires, Jason, Sam, Arlene and Tara, everyone else was content to think I was just some weirdo. But none of them had ever really asked me what it felt like to be in my own head. Well, Bill had when we first met, but I'd held back on account of I was afraid of freaking him out. Right, like there was anything I ever could have said that would have scared him. Well, except, "I cheated on you with Eric." I think that might have done it.

"It's tiring, mostly. _You_ probably wouldn't be surprised at how boring people are, but I certainly am. You just get tired of hearing the same complaints day in and day out." I shrugged.

"So what am I thinking right now?" Sophie asked me, and I smiled at her.

"It doesn't work that way. I can't read vampires." I told her, and didn't bother to mention that I could get a flash of something from a vampire every once in a while. If the vampires knew that, I'd be dead meat.

"Boo." She pouted, and I got the feeling she thought I was psychic in addition to being telepathic. "So why can't you read vampires?"

"I think it had something to do with the neurons that fire in the brain when a person thinks. Since ya'll are dead, there's nothing to fire." I explained to her.

"Fascinating." This was when I got the feeling she was being patronizing, but doing her best to hide it from me.

A member of Sophie's staff approached her hesitantly, and whispered something to her. I might have been able to hear it if I'd just a little bit more of Eric's blood in my system, but I was actually happy I couldn't hear it. More importantly, I was happy that I didn't have to run across the room to help keep Eric and Bill separated from one another.

"Please excuse me, Sookie, but I have an urgent matter to take care of." Sophie said politely, and then followed her staff member out of the room.

I didn't know if I should wait there for her or not. I just stood in the same spot for a minute or two before I felt large familiar hands on my shoulders. "You should head up to your room soon. Our meeting will be starting when the Queen returns." Eric informed me.

"Okay." I yawned.

"Did she bore you that much?" Eric asked me.

"No, not at all." I smiled up at him. "I'm just tired. You wore me out, Mister." I put my hand on his, and made the mistake of looking across the room.

Bill was watching us, and he wasn't at all trying to hide the fact that he was watching us. I removed my hand from Eric's, and turned around so I couldn't see Bill staring at me anymore, even if I could see feel his eyes on me. "Will you be resting in my room?" I asked him.

"I don't think that is wise." Eric looked over my head to where Bill was, and I glanced back at him as well.

"I'm yours now, right? What Bill thinks shouldn't matter." I turned Eric's face so he was looking at me.

The fact that he didn't have an answer ready worried me. "We will discuss this later." He said, and signaled Abbie for me.

"Miss Stackhouse, are you ready to retire for the evening?" She asked me.

"Yes, thank you." I smiled weakly at her. "Will you please come by my room before you go rest for the day?"

"I will." Eric promised me, and then I followed Abbie through the snaking corridors to my room.

"Can I get you anything?" Abbie asked me as she turned down my bed.

My stomach rumbled and I said, "I could use a snack."

"Of course. What would you like?" She asked me. I had to think about it for a second. "The kitchen has just about anything you could ever want." She told me.

Abbie was a pretty girl who appeared to be around my age. But then I tried to read her brain, and it was all fuzzy. "What are you?" I asked her.

"Excuse me?" She looked flustered.

"I'm a telepath."

"A what?"

"A telepath. I can read minds." I told her, and she immediately turned bright red with shame. "Don't worry, I try not to as often as possible." I assured her, but I could tell she was immediately uncomfortable with me, and a second later I found out why. She'd been having dirty thoughts about Eric, and I just smiled. "He's hard not to think about, Abbie. Really, it's okay."

Her blush lightened a bit. "I am so sorry, Miss Stackhouse."

"Please, call me Sookie." I held out my hand to her, and that was when I got a much clearer picture of what my assistant for the weekend really was. "So what are you? If you work for the Queen, I'm sure you know there is more out there than just vampires." I knew from reading her mind that she know a lot more than she was going to tell me.

"I'm a Phoenix." She finally told me so I didn't have to go diving in her brain for the answer. It was only a matter of time before I found it anyway.

"I've never met a Phoenix before."

"We are a rare breed."

"How did you come to work for Sophie?"

"Hurricane Katrina." She looked sadly at the floor. "What a tragedy that was. Before that, I was in Thailand, dealing with the rebuilding of Phuket."

"Is that what you do? You help people rebuild?"

"That's all I have ever done."

"And now you're working for the Queen?" What did she need help rebuilding? I was intrigued.

"I have my reasons." She said, and then clamped down hard on her brain to keep me out.

I nodded and said, "I can respect that, Abbie. I was just curious."

"Well I'm sure you know what curiosity did to the cat." She gave me a pointed stare. It was a warning, not a threat.

"Yes, I certainly do."

"So what can I get you from the kitchen?" She asked me.

"What would you recommend?"

"I'm a little partial to the chicken salad myself." She admitted.

A Phoenix who liked chicken salad. What's next? "Sounds good to me." I nodded.

"Anything else?"

"No, that oughta do it."

"Would you like to go into the city tomorrow? There's a festival going on in the French Quarter." She told me.

"Yes, I'd like that very much."

"What time shall I wake you?"

"No later than noon. I've heard it's not safe to be in the French Quarter after dark."

"Not if you're a human it isn't." She shook her head. "Sadly, that is the one thing that hasn't changed since Katrina." She sighed, and I could tell that in spite of all of her hard work, there was still a lot to be done. "Ah well. Goodnight, Miss Stackhouse." She smiled faintly, and then left me on my own to wait for my chicken salad.

o.O.o.O.o

I tried to stay awake until Eric could get back to my room, but I was thoroughly exhausted. I woke to the feeling of cool fingers running up my thigh, and equally cool lips grazing my jaw and neck. My eyes fluttered open to find Eric laying beside me, completely naked. "What time is it?" I stretched sleepily.

"Just before sunrise." He brushed my hair back from my face.

I noticed that the closer it got to sunrise, the thicker his accent became, and it was definitely thicker now. It was like watching the batteries in a toy run out. "How was your meeting?"

"Informative." His tone was tense. That was all I would get out of him, and that was just fine with me.

"I thought you were going to rest down in the catacombs?" I rolled onto my side, and slung my warm and smooth leg over his cooler rougher one.

"I have changed my mind. I enjoy being next to you when you sleep." He confessed to me, and it might have been one of the sweetest things he'd ever said.

I brushed his hair back the way he often did to me. "I wonder what you were like when you slept." I kissed his cheek. "Did you snore? Did you mumble things from time to time?" I wondered out loud.

"It has been so long since I have slept that I can no longer recall." He admitted, and that made me sad.

"Does that ever bother you?" Talking about being a human, a lower form of being, in his opinion, was not one of Eric's favorite things to do.

"Bare når jeg tenker på fremtiden vår." _Only when I think of our future. _He said with a slight sadness in his eyes. I didn't ask him what he meant. His eyes told me enough.

I picked up his heavy arm, and slid underneath it so that my head was resting on his bent elbow, and his other arm was draped over me. If Eric _did_ breathe, his breath would be falling on my forehead and cheeks. "I'll see you when the sunsets again, sweetheart." I whispered to him, but he was already dead for the day.

o.O.o.O.o

I left Eric resting in the bed, and went to shower. First I cleaned up all of the candles and dirty towels that were on the floor. I didn't know if someone would be coming to clean the room at some point, but I didn't want to leave a mess behind. The good thing about my ex-boyfriend being a somewhere else on the premises was that I wouldn't have to worry about running into him, since he was as dead as Eric. I dressed in a pair of the jeans Eric had bought for me, and a deep purple tank top. Since I planned to spend as much time outside as I could, I twisted my hair up into a bun once again, and then called for Abbie.

She met me in the entry way of the mansion, looking as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed a one might expect. "Did you sleep well?" She asked me immediately.

"I slept great." I smiled at her, and thought of Eric still upstairs in my light-tight room.

"Good. We have much to see today. I have arranged for a car to take us to the French Quarter, but first, I thought we would stop at Café Du Monde for café au lait and beignets. Have you been there before?" Abbie asked me.

"Not since before Katrina." I admitted, although I knew what an important landmark that particular restaurant was to the people of New Orleans. I was a Louisiana native, and therefore, it was important to me too.

"You'd hardly know anything ever happened there." Abbie told me, and then opened the door for me. "I also wanted to let you know that there will be stylists available to you tomorrow if you will be requiring assistance with hair or makeup preparations for the ball."

I hadn't thought that was a possibility, although I probably should have. "I think I can handle it all on my own." I told her.

"Excellent. Well, if you change your mind, just let me know." She said, and waited for me to step into the big black car that was waiting for us in the driveway. I slid over the smooth leather seat to the other side of the car, and waited for her to get in.

"So is this all you do now?" I asked Abbie once she was seated beside me.

"My position now is to serve the Queen in any capacity I am asked. Typically, I am her personal assistant." Abbie confessed to me.

"You're the Queen's personal assistant?" This was troubling to me. "Why would she loan you out to me?" I didn't intend to ask that question out loud. Something just didn't seem right about this.

"Her Majesty likes for her human guests to be well taken care of." It seemed as if this answer had been programmed into her, and I wondered if she hadn't been glamoured. Could a vampire glamour a Phoenix? I would have to ask about that later on.

I was under the impression that vampires couldn't glamour Supes of any kind. If I wasn't susceptible to it, I didn't figure a Phoenix would be, but I was learning all sorts of new things everyday when it came to the types of powers a vampire had. We rolled through the bright streets of New Orleans with Abbie pointing out one thing after another to me. I could see a sadness mixed with pride in her eyes. I could read that she had been incredibly saddened by all of the destruction that Katrina had rained down upon the poor people of New Orleans, but she was also proud of their spirit. They had fought back hard to rebuild a city that had been under so much water for so long. So many homes were destroyed, not to mention the businesses.

"I admire your strength." I said after hearing a particularly sad thought in her brain.

"My strength?" She looked amused by this.

"You rush into places that are destroyed or devastated, and you just roll up your sleeves and give people the hope they need to rebuild their lives." I told her.

"It's what a Phoenix does." She shrugged.

"Perhaps, but that doesn't make it any less remarkable." I told her as we rode along.

Finding a place to sit at Café Du Monde is a lot harder than it sounds. The Café was established back in 1862 as a French Coffee Market. It is now known as the premiere place to go for café au lait, which is a mix of coffee and chicory blended half and half with hot milk. I'm not crazy about chicory on its own, but mixed with coffee and milk, it's quite tasty. And it goes beautifully with the beignets. Those little donuts are addictive. From there we walked to the French Quarter, since it wasn't far. I stopped to look at various buildings, and Abbie would tell me the history of the building as if she had been present for it's conception and design. Maybe she was. I really didn't know. She'd put a lock on her brain again, with a great big neon sign that clearly told me, "Keep out." No problem by me.

Once we got to the French Quarter, I was surprised to see a large jazz festival going on, although this was pretty common, according to Abbie. There was almost always some sort of festival happening on the weekends in New Orleans, and in the summertime, the weekend began on Friday. Jazz bands were set up all over the place, each of them playing different tunes. You'd think that would be a nightmare, but somehow they music all blended together in a beautiful sort of way. It was cheerful music that just made you want to stop what you were doing so you could dance in the street. Many people did just that. It sort of made me wonder why Mary Anne had chosen Bon Temps when she could have taken New Orleans. But then, I suppose there were too many Supes here to battle for the turf, and I was able to gather that Mary Anne had liked being the big fish in a small pond.

We walked through the French Quarter for a while, stopping to listen to various bands, or to sample some of the food that was being sold. I'm not a big fan of seafood, which is a pretty sacrilegious claim to make in catfish country. I never much cared for crawfish, and I don't remember the last time I had a po' boy sandwich. We walked through some of the art galleries before coming to this antique shop that was run by a Shifter. Shifters generally seem to be able to sniff each other out, and they nod their acceptance to one another. The Shifter behind the counter wasn't a Werewolf, which I was actually thankful for. From what I'd been able to learn from Bill in bits and pieces, Werewolves could be pretty nasty customers, and they always lived in packs. It wasn't like Sam, who was just your basic shifter, and lived on his own. He didn't have a pack to run with, and I think he was actually happy about that. But the Weres...they were another breed all onto themselves, and they valued honor and privacy just as much as the vamps did.

I was looking in a case toward the back of the store when I spotted a pair of cufflinks. "Abbie, look at these." I pointed them out to her.

"They're very pretty." She agreed with me. "Thinking of getting your Sheriff a gift?"

"Not if they're silver." I looked closer.

"They are pewter." The Shifter was suddenly behind me, and I jumped.

"How much?" I asked out of curiosity.

The Shifter stared at me, and from her brain I could tell that she knew there was something different about me, she just didn't know what. She looked me up and down and said, "I can let them go for $200.00." She told me.

"They're a little out of my price range." I said, and then smiled over at Abbie. "Let's go."

"We'll take them." Abbie told the Shifter.

"Abbie, I don't have that kind of money." I whispered to her as the Shifter went to work removing the cufflinks from the case.

"You're not paying for them, the Queen is." Abbie winked at me.

"No. No, I can't let her do that." I shook my head.

"Her Majesty would be happy to do it." Abbie insisted, completely ignoring my requests to put the cufflinks back.

I was always forgetting how little value vampires find in money. They seem to have an abundance of it just waiting around for them at all times, and I knew the vampire sleeping up in my room was no different. Although, Eric definitely worked for his money. He didn't just glamour humans into handing it over to him the way some vampires did. Eric spent at least ten hours a week in his bar, on display, for humans to gawk at and fantasize over. The rest of the time he was working on ways to expand his business. Fangtasia was easily the most notable vampire bar in northern Louisiana. It didn't get that way overnight, and without a little elbow grease.

Abbie paid for the cufflinks, and then handed them over to me. "Your Sheriff will be pleased, I think." She said as we walked out of the shop. "So, shall we take one of those delicious cemetery tours now?"

"Sure." I felt like I'd just been steam rolled by Abbie.

o.O.o.O.o

We got back to the mansion just before sunset. I hid Eric's gift away. I wasn't sure if I wanted to give it to him, since I hadn't paid for it myself. I felt strange about giving him a gift that had been paid for by someone else. On the other hand, there was always the chance that Sophie Ann might just waltz up to Eric and ask to see his gift. If he wasn't wearing them, she would become suspicious, and wonder why I hadn't given them to him. I think I think too much sometimes. But I figure it makes sense to be cautious, given the company I'm keeping. Trusting Eric was one thing, but trusting an entire race of vampires was something else altogether.

I had never been in the same room with Eric when he rose for the night. I didn't know what to expect. Bill's eyes always just popped open as if he'd been jolted with a cattle prod. Sometimes he was hungry, sometimes he wasn't. It depended on how long it had been since he'd last fed. Since Eric had been feeding on me pretty regularly, I was going to have to start forcing True Blood on him soon, or he was going to drain me dry. I was licking powdered sugar off my lips from a left over beignet when Eric rose.

"Hello lover." He was at my side in a flash, and kissing me before I could say anything. "Delicious." He said with his eyes closed.

"Almost makes you wish you could eat again, huh?" I kissed him back.

"I still eat...it's just a much rarer delicacy than a donut." He whispered in my ear, and I turned bright red. I'm sure he could feel my heart hammering in my chest. "How was your day?" He asked me.

"It was lovely. Abbie took me to the French Quarter. There was a jazz festival going on, so I got to hear a lot of wonderful musicians. I tried a couple of different gumbo recipes. We walked through some of the galleries and shops, and then we went on one of those cemetery walking tours." I told him.

"Sounds like you had a full day." He was impressed.

"I did. It was nice to get out and enjoy the sunshine." I told him, but felt a little guilty for it. Eric couldn't do that. We would never be able to just go for a walk on a lazy Sunday afternoon. If I ever got a dog, we wouldn't be able to take him to the lake to watch him chase raccoons or dive after fish. Although, it was my understanding that dogs and vampires just didn't mix very well.

A note was slipped under our door then, and Eric went to retrieve it. "The Queen needs to speak with me. I'll be back." Eric said without looking at me, and then he disappeared out of the room.

"See you later then." I said absently, and waved at empty space,. Then I went to the bathroom and ran the water for a shower.


	8. Jealous Guy

**Chapter Seven: Jealous Guy**

The shower was one of those ones where a large shower head hung from the ceiling, almost like a sprinkler or a watering can. It felt like warm and heavy rain falling on me as I soaped up. I was all sweaty from being out in the sun for so long, but it was worth it. I noticed a little more glow to my skin, which always made me feel a little bit better. Add to that the steady pressure from the water falling on me, and I was one happy camper. Now if only I knew why Sophie Anne was in a hurry to see Eric, I'd feel just fine. Something about the way he dashed off had my stomach in knots. Anytime a vampire is summoned by the Queen, you can pretty much guarantee it's not because she wants to take him out for ice cream to celebrate some accomplishment. The fact that it was just barely after sundown didn't help matters.

Dinner for the human guests in attendance was scheduled to be served promptly at seven, which mean I had to hurry along if I didn't want to be late. I hadn't paid a whole lot of attention to what others were wearing the night before since I was too busy breaking up vampire fights and entertaining Sophie Anne, but I assumed that dinner wouldn't be too casual. The decor of the house suggested that Sophie Anne wasn't a very casual person. I wondered if she even owned a pair of blue jeans. Something told me the answer to that was probably not. Eric returned to my room just as I was about to get dressed.

He looked troubled, which didn't do a darn thing to make me feel any better. My heart sank a little, and I wanted to ask what Sophie Anne had wanted to discuss with him, but I knew it was better if I just kept my curiosity to myself. I had already been warned once about what curiosity did to the cat, and that was just coming from a Phoenix. I plucked a dress from the closet and took it off its hanger.

"This isn't too fancy for dinner is it?" I held up the dress for Eric to see.

"No," He shook his head absently. In that moment, I was thankful I couldn't read his mind.

Before I could stop myself, I asked, "Is everything okay?"

Eric swung his eyes over to me with a look of warning. "You know I can't answer that question, Sookie."

"Why not?"

"Because there are certain aspects of my job that I cannot discuss with anyone, even if I know I can trust you. It's just too dangerous for me to tell you, and I cannot risk that someone might decide to use you as bait." Eric explained to me.

"Why would someone want to use me as bait?" Now I was really curious. More than that, I was also confused and a little scared.

"You should wear your hair down. It looks very pretty when it is down." Eric told me. He was changing the subject. The question then became whether or not I should try to press him for more details. Of course, I could press him all I wanted, but I know if he was determined not to tell me he would keep his mouth shut.

"Do you ever wish you could glamour me?" I asked him as I pulled on my dress.

"What a question." He shook his head. He seemed a little offended that I would even suggest such a thing.

"Wouldn't that make things easier for you? Then you could tell me everything you wanted to tell me, and then wipe it from my brain as if we'd never had the conversation at all. I couldn't be bait then." I didn't mean to sound so full of self-pity, but it was hard not to.

All of a sudden he was behind me, pulling up the zipper of my dress for me.

"I like you just the way you are, my lover," he kissed the top of my head. "I do not wish to change you in the slightest."

"Are you sure about that? I don't want to be a liability to you, Eric. If I am going to cause you harm, or get in the way, then maybe it's better if we end this now." I suggested.

"You are not in the way. Why would you think such a thing?" He asked me this question like he had forgotten the last two minutes of our conversation.

"If there's concern someone is going to try and use me as bait to lure you-"

"Sookie, that could just as easily happen with Pam, or any of the other people who are close to me." Eric said dismissively.

"True, but Pam can handle herself. I'm not strong like her."

"Yes you are." He said with conviction. "You are the strongest human I have ever met." His blue eyes locked with mine, and I believed every word he just said.

"Do you ever wish I was a vampire?" I countered his lovely compliment with an absolutely morbid question.

"Are you drunk?" He asked me. Considering my train of thinking, I can't blame him for thinking maybe I was.

"No," I laughed quietly as I started to brush my hair.

"You are acting strange."

"I'm just thinking too much." I shrugged in the mirror.

"Let me?" He held out his hand, and I handed him my hairbrush.

Now here's a sight I couldn't have predicted a year ago. Who ever would have thought that Eric Northman, the badass Viking vampire, would ever be standing behind some little telepath from Bon Temps, brushing her hair before a dinner party at the Queen of Louisiana's mansion? I couldn't help but laugh at the thought, but this seemed to anger Eric.

"I'm not laughing at you." I said to reassure him. "I was just thinking how unlikely this moment was to occur."

"There are no accidents in life, Sookie, no coincidences. Every single experience we encounter comes to us for a reason. It is a lesson, a blessing in disguise. Even the tragedies of life." Eric spoke with centuries of wisdom in his voice, but it shook my confidence.

I took his hand and asked, "If something bad was about to happen, you would tell me, right?"

He put down my hairbrush, and turned me around to face him. "I do not keep things from you because I do not think you can handle it. I do not tell you things because I want to keep you safe."

"I know, Eric, I know." I said compassionately.

He picked up the hairbrush again, and resumed brushing my hair for me. I stood there silently, watching him in the mirror as he brushed my hair with this intensity in his eyes that didn't match the task he was doing. Something was definitely wrong.

o.O.o.O.o

I didn't realize it until it was too late, but I was dressed almost identical to the way I was the night I met Eric. I was wearing the same dress. My hair was styled in almost the exact same way, only it was about six inches longer than it had been then. I was still just as tan, and I was wearing the same makeup. The things that were most different about me were the things a person couldn't see just by looking at me. For instance, I know that Shifters existed now. I hadn't known that then. I am no longer a virgin. I've had what I consider to be a lot of sex, and with two very...adventurous vampire partners. I've let those same two vampires feed on me. My Gran is gone, and I carry that loss with me every minute of every day. There are probably a million other differences, but you get the idea.

Eric walked me down to the extravagant dining room where just about all of the other humans were milling about, discussing their vampire companions. I felt like a fish out of water in that room. I'm leery about approaching humans because I never know what I'm going to hear in their heads. I try to keep my shields up, but sometimes the broadcaster is just too strong. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the majority of the humans in the room weren't clear broadcasters. That, of course, made me wonder how many of them were Supes. My eyes immediately went to a tall blond woman standing on her own in one of the corners. She had the kindest blue eyes I'd ever seen, and peaches 'n cream skin. Freckles spattered over her nose in the most fascinating pattern. He long hair hung in waves the likes of which you would expect to see in one of those old paintings of goddesses. I couldn't stop looking at her, even though I kept telling myself to look away. Finally, she approached me.

"Hi, I'm Isolde Brannigan." She held out her hand to me. It was incredibly soft and warm.

"Sookie Stackhouse. I'm sorry I was staring at you." I apologized with a blush spreading on my cheeks. I couldn't read her at all, which was shocking. I looked a little closer, but there were no other signs that she was vampire. _Interesting_, I thought to myself.

"It's okay. I don't mean to sound conceited, but I'm used to it."

"I bet you are."

"So, you are here with Eric Northman?" She read off my name tag.

"I am." I nodded.

"Are you just a friend, or is he something more?" She asked me. I must have looked at her strangely because she began to apologize. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

"Oh no, none taken." I laughed quietly, nervously. "It's just...well, it's sort of a new thing."

"Say no more." She held up a hand to stop me. "Don't want to jinx it, and you don't want to go assuming it's more than it is."

"Something like that." I looked at her name tag, and my jaw dropped. "You...you're um...you're here with Bill Compton?"

"Oh yes." She smiled broadly. "Have you met him?"

Bill never mentioned me to her. My heart sank a little, although I'm not sure why. "I have."

"Isn't he just the sweetest? He's a little intense from time to time, but he means well." Isolde put her warm hand on my shoulder.

"He's a good man." I agreed.

"Do you know him well?"

"You might say that." I cleared my throat, not sure if I wanted to launch into a whole explanation of how our relationship had come to its bitter end. "He lives close by. We have done some work together in the past." I figured I was safe with that.

"Wait a minute!" Her eyes lit up as if she was remembering some important detail. "You're the telepath, aren't you?" She leaned in to whisper this to me.

"I am." I admitted, even though it made me nervous to do such a thing. Something about being a known telepath in the Supernatural Circle didn't make me feel good. It made me feel like I could be put up for auction at any moment. I was suddenly wishing that Eric had stuck around a while longer.

"Now I remember who you are. Oh Bill has told me so much about you." She said with admiration in her voice.

"He has?"

"Well of course, silly. You don't just get over your first love after a hundred in fifty years in a few weeks." She nudged me for being so ridiculous.

"It's been a little longer than that." I took a glass of champagne from the passing tray.

"But that's just it, Sookie. True love lasts a lifetime." She put her hands over her heart.

I didn't know what to say to that, so I changed the subject. "How do you know Bill?"

"Oh we met last year while he was doing some work for Sophie Anne. He's a very smart man. A harder worker too."

I shrugged, since I didn't really know anything about the projects he'd been summoned to work on for the Queen.

"I'm sure he'd be happy to hear you say that." I couldn't think of anything else to say.

Thankfully Sophie Anne came into the room to start the meal. I wasn't expected her to preside over the meal. And of course, as the fates would have it, Isolde was seated to my right. Sophie Anne was sitting to my left at the head of the table. Stupid assigned seating. I looked around the table, trying to get any sort of information from anyone's brain, but everyone seemed to be on lockdown, which made me wonder if they all knew they were in a room with a telepath.

"I would like to thank you all for coming. This is a very important weekend for the vampires of Louisiana, and your presence here is actually the biggest gift to me, because it helps to keep my staff in line." She was pouring it on a little thick, as far as I was concerned. "I would like it if you all could take turns one by one and tell everyone here a little bit about yourselves, starting with the vampire you have accompanied. Romeo, why don't we start with you?" Sophie Anne looked to the other end of the table.

A young man of about twenty, give or take a few years, stood up. "My name is Romeo. I am here with Constance Leiberman, Area 2 Sheriff. I am originally from Venice, Italy." He paused there to look at Sophie Anne, as did everyone else at the table. She gave him a nod, and he continued. "I am a Centaur." He concluded, and my jaw just dropped.

Was everyone at the table a Supe of some kind? This was just getting weirder and weirder. By the time it was my turn, I felt like I barely ranked with the rest of them. I was having dinner with a Centaur, a Cyclops, a Boo Hag, three Banshees, a Werewolf, a Hamingja and a Doppleganger. Where a telepath ranked on this list of Supernatural Super Stars, I have no clue. I suddenly felt highly under qualified to be sitting at the same table as the rest of these people. I didn't even know what a Banshee or Hamingja were. I had some research to do.

"Sookie?" Sophie Anne nudged me under the table, and I stood up.

"My name is Sookie Stackhouse. I grew up in Bon Temps, Louisiana. I'm a telepath." I figured I might as well get that out of the way, and there was a collective gasp from the people sitting around me. "I'm here with Eric Northman." I finished, and I noticed a few looks of jealousy coming my way.

"Thank you, Sookie." Sophie Anne smiled at me. "Well, now that we all know each other, let's eat." She clapped her hands, and a rush of servants filled the room.

"Everyone here is going to want to know you better, just you wait." Sophie Anne told me with a childish enthusiasm. I wish I felt as good about that as she did.

o.O.o.O.o

As soon as dinner was over I went straight back to my room. Several people had asked me to stick around for drinks, but I wasn't in the mood. I just wanted to get back to my room and talk to Eric. I had the strangest feeling that something wasn't right. And I really wanted to know what the hell a Hamingja was. Of course, Eric wasn't there when I got back. Since I don't know much of anything about computers, (shocking, I know) I would have to wait for him to return to explain it to me. What I couldn't figure out was why Sophie Anne seemed to be collecting Supernatural creatures. Every single person in attendance, except the fangbangers, would be a Supe of some sort. How bizarre is that? I could understand one or two, but all of us? That's just weird.

I paced the room for as long as I could. I was afraid to leave without some kind of protection, and I worried I was in way over my head with all of this. Eric had failed to mention to me that everyone else was going to be a Supe, and I was quite certain he knew all about it. Did that mean he'd known about Bill too? I knew he was telling the truth when he said that Sophie Anne wasn't obligated to share her guest list with him, but something just wasn't adding up. I was missing a very large piece of the puzzle. The worst of it was, I was pretty sure I wouldn't be getting that piece from Eric. It wouldn't be safe, of course.

I checked the room for a note, but didn't find one anywhere. I had no idea when he would be back, or if he would be coming back. I changed out of my dress and into a pair of pajama shorts and tank top. I took the headband off my head, and went to the bathroom to wash my face. I brushed my teeth and hair, and then got into bed. The sheets felt good against my smooth legs, but I was glad I didn't have to sleep on them all the time. I missed the fluffy comfort of my flannel sheets at home. Sounds crazy, doesn't it, to prefer flannel to silk? I'm a simple girl.

There was a knock at my door. I was reluctant to answer it, since I didn't want to be bothered by random dwellers of the Supernatural World. A familiar voice called out to me, and I had to strain to hear it. "Sookie, are you in there?" It was Bill.

I got out of bed slowly and slipped into the bathrobe I'd brought along with me. I pressed my ear to the door and wondered if he could still feel me. I thought I could still feel him sometimes, and I think that's part of what made our breakup so difficult to bear. There were times when I would be hit with this wave of extreme sadness out of nowhere, and I was pretty sure it was coming from Bill. Whether that was a part of our Bond, or some sort of mix up with my ability, I don't know. I just tried to smile my way through it and not think about it too much.

"Sookie, if you're there please answer the door." He pleaded from the other side.

I sighed, which I'm sure he heard, and opened the door. "It's late, Bill."

"I know." He smiled at me just the littlest bit.

"What can I do for you?" I didn't invite him in, and I wasn't planning on changing that.

"Isolde told me she met you at dinner this evening."

"She did. She seems very nice. She's very pretty. I can see why you would like her."

"It's not like that, Sookie."

"Bill it's not really any of my business what it's like. We aren't together anymore."

"I know. I live with that everyday." He looked down with sorrow in his eyes.

"Bill, I think it's for the best that we move on from each other." I tried to sound hopeful.

"I have not moved on." He looked at me with those piercing blue eyes of his, and I was quite sure that if he could have glamoured me, he would have done so right then.

"You should." I advised.

"Like you did with Eric?" That felt like a slap in the face, and it registered in my eyes. "I'm sorry." He apologized.

"No, Bill, you're not. But you should be." I started to close the door.

"Sookie, wait, please," He held out a hand to stop the door. "Can't we just talk like friends?"

"You said you couldn't be my friend because of Eric. I'm not sure where he is now but I know he'll be back, and I'm too tired to referee a fight between the two of you." I sighed as I leaned against the door.

"I swear I will be on my very best behavior." He said in the smooth southern drawl of his.

I exhaled loudly, and then moved back to let him in. "Just a few minutes, and then I really need to go to sleep."

Bill walked into the room, and looked around. Actually, it was more like he was scanning the room, but I couldn't tell you what he was looking for. He sat down on the wingback chair at the far end of the room. I sat on the edge of the gigantic bed with my legs folded under me. What I wanted to do was curl into a ball against the fluffy pillows at the head of the bed, but I couldn't do that with the possibility that Eric might walk in the room at any second. I was just so tired. I didn't want my brain to have to process anything else.

"I wanted to tell you that Isolde and I are not a couple." Bill said.

"Yeah, I figured that out already, Bill. You made it pretty clear when you said you hadn't moved on." I scratched the back of my head just to keep my body in some sort of motion. I noticed that when I was moving, I didn't think quite so much.

"And Eric? Is he...I mean are you..." He trailed off, unable to make himself say the words.

I took a deep breath and said, "He asked me to come with him because Sophie Anne asked him to." Bill looked relieved, which made the next part really hard to say. "But I have been seeing Eric for personal reasons as well."

"I see," Bill looked as if I had just broken his heart all over again. "I suppose I can't blame you. For centuries women have desired him."

"It's not just about that." Or was it? Honestly, I didn't know. Eric and I hadn't defined the context of our relationship just yet. I didn't feel comfortable calling him my boyfriend, although, I suppose that's exactly what he was becoming.

"You have feelings for him." It wasn't a question, but it wasn't a statement either.

Just then the door opened to reveal Eric standing there looking less than amused to see his subordinate chatting with his human.

"I hope I'm not interrupting." Eric tried to sound calm, but there was an obvious tension in the room that had gone from uncomfortable to outright angry.

"No, of course not. Bill and I were just having a visit." I slapped a smile on my face in hopes that it would help keep the peace.

"It is late, Sookie. You should get some sleep." Eric advised me.

"I can set my own bedtime, thank you." I looked to Eric. I didn't like the idea of being his puppet anymore than I had liked being a puppet for Bill.

"I should be going. Isolde wanted to take a walk around the property, but she was afraid to do that with other vampires on the premises." Bill stood to go. "It was nice talking with you Sookie. I will see you tomorrow evening." Bill nodded at Eric, and then left the room.

"What did Bill want?" Eric asked me once the door was closed.

"Just to talk." I said casually. Was Eric jealous? If he was, that was certainly new.

"I am not jealous." Eric said immediately, catching my feelings over the Bond.

"Okay," I shrugged, and slid back on the bed to lean back against the fluffy pillows I had been thinking about since the fourth course at dinner. "Eric what is a Himingja?"

His head whirled around toward mine. "A Himingja? It's a mythical creature in Scandinavian folklore." He shrugged it off as if it were no importance.

"Are you sure?" I tried not to stare at him too hard. If I got too pushy or curious I knew he would shut down the conversation in a heartbeat.

"I don't know much about them, Sookie. You really should look into getting a computer." He advised me.

Is it sad that a thousand year old undead man knows more about computers than I do? I thought so.

I sighed and said, "Can you tell me what you do know?"

"They are guardian angels who can be loaned out to guard a person against harm while they are on a voyage. Supposedly they were shifters who appeared in the night to determine a person, or family's, luck and happiness. Why do you ask?" He slowly unbuttoned his jacket and shirt.

"I met one tonight." I shrugged, and he looked at me more closely.

"Are you sure?"

"Unless she was lying. She's the companion of the sheriff in Area 7."

"Interesting." Eric pulled off his shirt.

"There's blood on your neck." I scrambled forward to check his neck. "Why is there blood on your neck?"

There were only two possibilities that I could think of in that moment, and I didn't like either one. Either he'd been wounded by something, or he'd fed on someone else. If he'd been wounded, I was worried. If he had fed on someone else, I was pissed. Although, like I said, we hadn't really talked about whether or not it was okay for him to be feeding on other people. Frankly, as long as he wasn't having sex with the people he fed on, I didn't really mind it. If it meant I didn't have to take all of these extra vitamins and feel so tired all the time, it was okay by me. I just worried that he would pick up Hep-D from someone. That was a major concern in the vampire community. Hep-D was fatal to vampires if it wasn't properly treated, and it could take days for symptoms to show. By then it might be too late to be treated. It was a slow and painful way for a vampire to die. Letting a vampire feed on you without disclosing you were Hep-D positive was enough to get a human convicted of murder in the state of Louisiana.

"Eric, why is there blood on your neck?" I asked him, but he didn't answer me. Instead, he went to the bathroom and got in the shower. If he thought a door closing in my face was going to be the end of this, he was sorely mistaken. I walked into the bathroom, and opened the shower door. "Did you feed on someone else?" I demanded.

"Yes, I did." He said it so casually I could have kicked him.

"Did you have sex with this person?" I asked, although I didn't really want to know the answer to that question since I had a pretty good idea of what the answer would be.

"No, I did not." He looked me in the eyes when he said it, and I could tell he was being honest with me. "Why are you so upset, lover?"

"Finish your shower. We'll talk when you're done." I closed the door, and then left the bathroom.

I got back into bed, and snuggled in the way I'd been wanting to for hours. Eric emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later with a towel wrapped around his waist. He sat down on the edge of the bed, and looked over at me. "Did you mean what you said when Sophie Anne asked if you were mine?"

Damn. I had been hoping to avoid this issue, but if Eric was going to give up on feeding on others then I guess I owed him this.

"Yes, I did." His expression didn't change with my words.

"It bothers you that I fed on someone else, yes?" Eric stretched out so that his head was resting on my bent knees. I never realized how heavy his head was.

"A little." I admitted.

"Then I won't do it anymore." He promised me. I gave him a look of disbelief, my eyebrows arching as high as they would go. "You do not believe me?"

"Weren't you the one who gave me that whole big speech about pie crust promises? You're a vampire, Eric. It goes against your nature not to want to feed on humans." I pointed out.

"That's correct." He was a blur of motion for just a fraction of a second before settling beside me so we were face to face on the large bed. "It's in my nature to feed on various humans, but if it's important to you that I do not do such things, then I won't."

"Just like that, you can give it up? You told me before it wasn't so simple."

"That's because I was trading in humans altogether for that God-awful True Blood." He cringed at the mere mention of it.

"Eric, you can't feed on me everyday without draining me." I reminded him.

"I know. This isn't my first day on the job, you know." He brushed my hair back from my face.

"So then you understand that you're going to have to drink that God-awful Tru Blood from time to time, right?" I wanted to make sure he was understanding how this was going to work.

"I understand." He nodded.

It wasn't until I stretched out my legs and moved closer to him that I knew he had abandoned his towel. His hair was almost dry already, and I sort of envied him for that reason. He surprised me by moving so that his head was resting on my chest. He could feel my heart beating under his head, and I wondered if that bothered him at all. Did he miss it, even just a little bit? I ran my fingers through his hair, knowing he wasn't going to fall asleep next to me. It was far too soon for him to start resting. Frankly, it was probably a bad idea of me to go to sleep so soon, considering how long of a day it was going to be. Of course, I could always just spend the day in bed watching old movies on television. At the moment, that sounded like a perfect plan.

"What are you thinking about?" Eric asked me.

"What I'm going to do with my day tomorrow. I think I might just stay in bed and watch movies on television. It's going to be a long night." He tightened his grip on me as I talked. "When I asked you earlier if you ever wished I was a vampire, you never really answered me. Do you think I'd be bad at it?"

Eric's head whipped up, and he was resting his head on the palm of his hand. "I think you would be unstoppable. You'd certainly give me a run for my money." He smiled at me devilishly.

"Why's that?" I had this strange feeling of deja vous.

"Because you're ruthless." He answered me easily.

I gasped at the insinuation. "I am not."

"You are," Eric smiled, his face getting closer to mine. "When it comes to the people you care for, you stop at nothing to ensure their safety, or to avenge the wrong done to them. You have what it takes to be one of us."

"Not that I'm asking you to, but would you ever turn me?" The deja vu feeling was now gone.

He thought it over for a moment. "It would be a pleasure to walk with you for the remainder of your time on Earth, lover, but things between us would have to change. I like them as they are."

"Forever _is_ a long time." I agreed.

"It is not about time." He gathered me closer to him. "It is about you having a purpose in the world. You were not put on this planet to be a vampire. You will do great things, but not one of them will include being a vampire."

"How do you know?" I rolled onto my side so that we were face to face once again. "You know I used to think you were so empty and made of stone." My voice took on a dreamy quality.

"And I used to think that you were an uptight pain in the ass." He told me.

"I was wrong about you. You have feelings, even if you don't like to show them. I know they're there. I see them every time you look my way." I touched his cheek. "When you said that you had only been in love one time in your life, who were you talking about?"

Eric was just about to answer me when his cell phone rang. I sighed with frustration, and stayed right where I was. He answered all of the questions in French, knowing darn well I could only make out basic words. It wasn't long before he was hanging up the phone and putting on his clothes.

"I'm sorry, lover, but I must return to the Queen immediately. Something has come up." He bent over the bed and kissed my forehead.

Now my spidey-sense was really tingling. I had a bad feeling about this. "Will you be back here to rest?"

"By sunrise." He promised me, and then he was gone.

I didn't like this new habit of his. I turned on the television, turned off the lights and made myself comfortable. I was sound asleep when Eric came back just before dawn.


	9. Starlight

**Okay, I've been getting a lot of reviews and PMs about Eric's character in this story. Again, let me stress that when I wrote this, my SVM knowledge was limited. I'd only read the first two books and I didn't have a very clear picture of what sort of person Eric was. I got Sookie's very skewed view of him, thanks to Bill, and the trickery Eric employed to get his blood in her. I also only had one season of True Blood under my belt, and in the first season, Eric isn't really painted in the best light. I wasn't aware of the reasons Bill was sent back to Bon Temps, or of the feelings Eric and Sookie would come to have for one another in the books. So as I've said before, I hate this story because of how OOC it is. If I had it to do over again, I would change things. So hopefully that answers your questions and clears the air a little.**

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Starlight**

I was lost in the kind of sleep you don't think you're ever going to wake up from, but you keep wishing you would. I was having the strangest dreams I'd had in a long time. I dreamt of all sorts of mythical creatures, ghosts, goblins, zombies, witches and whole host of other things I'd never heard of. I was being chased. Actually, I was being hunted. For some reason they were all coming after _me_. There was nowhere safe to run, and just when I thought I'd found a place I could hide for a while, something got me. In my dreams I was screaming for Eric, but he was nowhere to be found. And then there was Sophie Anne, but I didn't feel any better. She had her minions pick me up, and cart me off to some creepy dungeon in her basement. That's where I found Eric. He was chained to the wall with silver, looking gaunt and close to death. Sophie Anne stood on this balcony overlooking this large pit where I was standing with Eric chained up before me. I was afraid to touch him, but I was afraid not to.

"Okay boys. Let him loose." Sophie Anne winked at me.

My stomach dropped into my feet. She continued to stand there and watch while her minions released Eric from his bonds. His heavy body dropped to the floor, and he landed on his feet like a cat would. I backed away from him, trying to think of anything I could possibly say to keep him from tearing me apart. He just stared at me with this lusty hunger on his face. Then I said, "Eric, wait. Make me one of you."

He stopped in his tracks, and looked up at Sophie Anne. She gave a nod, and then I was in Eric's arms. His fangs sank deeply into my throat, and I blacked out almost immediately. "Sookie?" There was a cool hand on my shoulder, and I screamed.

I scrambled back in the bed, but I was too close to the edge. I would have fallen if Eric wouldn't have reached out and yanked me back. I was so disoriented and freaked out that I couldn't talk for a minute. I was sweating. My heart was pounding, and my throat hurt. I wondered how long Eric had been sitting there watching me like that, or if the Bond had summoned him back to our room. I sat curled in a ball with my knees up to my chest. My breath was as shaky as the rest of me, and Eric looked concerned.

"Sookie, what is the matter?" He was stroking my hair in a calming way.

"It was just a dream." I said weakly, but it didn't feel like it was just a dream. It felt like a warning.

"What did you dream about? Whatever it was had you terrified. I had to leave her Majesty in the middle of a conversation to come check on you." Eric didn't sound the least bit upset with me, which I was surprised by.

"It was..." I trailed off. I couldn't remember anything until the very end. "Sophie Anne had you chained with silver in this dungeon sort of thing. She threw me in there with you, and then had your chains removed. I don't know how long you were there, but you were so pale and weak." I started crying, even though I'm not sure why. "They released you from the chains, and you fell to the floor. You were coming at me so slowly, like you were enjoying watching me panic. You were just about to bite me when I asked you to make me one of you. You looked up at Sophie, and she nodded. The next thing I knew your fangs were in my neck, and I blacked out." How he understood a word of that, I will never know. I was crying pretty hard by the time I finished relaying my dream to him.

He didn't try to comfort me right away. He just let me cry for a few minutes, and I was actually thankful for that. I don't think I could have stood for him to touch me just yet. It was just a dream, I knew that much, but there was just this feeling I couldn't quite shake. It had settled over me like a dark cloud, and I didn't know how to make it go away. My instincts were screaming at me that something bad was looming on the horizon. The worst of it was, even if I confided my fears to Eric, he wouldn't answer my questions. I would be kept in the dark the way I always was. He would only show me the things I needed to see, instead of letting me see the full picture.

He went to the bathroom and got me a glass of water, which was probably the best thing he could have done for me. "If you had been turned, that would be blood on your face." He dabbed at the tears that were running off my face.

I reached up and touched my cheek just to be on the safe side. When I didn't see blood on my hands, I started to relax a little. I was still shaken, but my ability to breathe got a little better. I finished my water, and he took the glass back. I curled into a ball on the bed, and he pulled me closer to him. "Do you really think I would turn you, Sookie?"

My forehead was pressed against the soft fabric of the sweater he was wearing. I didn't know the answer to that question. "It's possible, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is possible." He looked down at me. "But I would be doing it against my will. As I told you, you are meant for more than being a vampire, lover. There is a magic inside of you that should not die when the sun rises each day. That is a world I would not like to live in."

It amazed me how he could say such sweet things to me, and still be this dark creature I wouldn't want to meet in an alley without being wrapped in silver. The Eric I was starting to see next to me is not the same as the Eric I'd met last year. Or, maybe he was, and I was just letting my growing feelings for him cloud my judgment. "So if I asked you to turn me, you wouldn't do it?" I looked up at him. He seemed bothered by this question, and it took me a second to figure out why. "I'm not asking you to do it, Eric."

"Good. You are a human, Sookie. You should stay that way." He got up off the bed.

"Where are you going?"

"You need your rest, as do I. I think perhaps I should rest somewhere else for the day." He suggested.

"Why? Because I had a dream? What if I have another one. I'll feel better if you're here." I tried to argue.

"I cannot protect you from what is in your head, lover. That is something you must battle for yourself." He leaned over and kissed me.

"Eric..." I didn't want him to go. I was getting pretty tired of him leaving me, even if it was just for a few hours. "Stay. Please?" I stood up on the bed, and for once, I was taller than him. I put my hands on his face, and gave him the biggest puppy dog eyes I had in me. He's not the only one who can be manipulative, darn it. I had a few tricks up my sleeve. Although I'd never thought, in a million years, that Eric would fall for something as timeless as puppy dog eyes.

It was then that I got the idea that Eric liked the idea of me needing him. He was content to let me be strong and fight my own battles of course, but he liked the idea of being able to protect me when I needed him to. He tucked me into bed and laid down next to me. He wouldn't be needing a blanket. In less than five minutes, he was going to be dead for the day. We laid in bed facing each other, our hands wrapped around each other's.

"Close your eyes, lover." Eric whispered to me, and I did. He kissed my forehead, and when I opened my eyes again, he was dead to everyone else in the world but me.

o.O.o.O.o

I spent the day in bed as I had planned, just watching movies on TCM and watching Eric rest. He looked almost innocent, laying there next to me. He was so beautiful, even with his eyes closed. It was Jimmy Stewart day on TCM, so I watched Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Rear Window, Vertigo and The Philadelphia Story before deciding that maybe I should get my lazy bones out of bed. I'd never been to anything more formal than a dance at school, and the dances at Renard Parish High School weren't at all what I would call fancy. Boys worse dirty cowboy boots and jeans they'd been wearing for as long as they could remember. Girls slicked on a little extra lip gloss, but that was about all that was different from what you'd seen any given day in the cafeteria.

I started by taking a long bubble bath to try and shake what was left of that nasty dream I'd had earlier. I listened to soothing music. Sigur Ros, to be exact, and I have to admit, I was falling in love with it a little more with each note they played. The fact that I couldn't understand the words didn't matter to me at all. The music itself was enough of a reason to keep listening. I almost fell asleep in the tub, I got so relaxed. I wash my hair and shaved my legs. I got out of the tub and rubbed lotion on myself that would make my arms and legs shimmer. I smelled like I'd been put together in a candy shop by the time I was finished. I dried my hair and went to work styling it with a large barreled curling iron. Once my hair was sufficiently waved, I began to pin it back. I left a few tendrils of hair framing my sunkissed face, and then went to work on my makeup.

I checked the time, and found that it would be sundown soon. Eric would be awake. It occurred to me then that if I looked too pretty, I would have to start all over again. Eric wouldn't think twice about tossing me around this room like a rag doll, and to be honest, I'm not sure I'd have it in me to stop him. Just the thought of him waking up and sneaking up on me the way he seemed to like to do gave me chills. I called down to the kitchen anyway and asked for them to send up a couple of bottles of True Blood. Less than a minute later, the bottles had arrived.

I put them on the heavy oak dresser across from the bed, hoping that Eric would spot them before hunting me down. No such luck. The minute Eric was awake, he was looking for me. He found me in the bathroom struggling with the bustier I had to wear under my dress. "Allow me." Eric stepped up behind me, his fingers cool and quick against my skin. Unfortunately, he was removing the garment instead of fastening it.

"Eric, I have to get ready." I laughed, holding the flimsy fabric to my front.

"Don't worry, lover, you will be ready." Eric promised me with his lips grazing my shoulder as he spoke.

The hairs on my arms were standing up, and there was this almost electric charge to the air around us. "Don't mess up my hair." I warned him before turning to kiss him.

"I promise." He picked me up and put me on the counter beside the sink.

"And no biting me where anyone can see." I wagged a finger at him.

"You have my word." He nodded, and then pulled off his shirt before yanking away the bustier from in front of me.

I sat on the counter with my legs dangling in the air and my heart pounding away in my chest. I went to work removing his pants while we kissed, and his hands moved to what seemed to be their favorite location on my body. Man, oh man, I could just kiss him forever and be happy. I'm not sure he feels the same way, but that would only be a problem if kissing was all he was good at. Before long my legs were wrapped around him, and he was thrusting into me fast and hard. It was almost brutal, but it was the good kind of pain. I was wrapped around him, and I found that I liked the feeling of it. Although I also knew he was going to bite me soon, and I was trying to figure out where he planned on doing that, since the only space that seemed to be available was my neck or my shoulders.

He finished before me, for a change, but he didn't leave me hanging. He put me down on the ground, and sank to his knees to finish what he'd started with his fingers. I leaned back against the counter because my legs were starting to go a little weak. His mouth and hands were working in tandem. My fingers snaked through his hair, scratching at his scalp, neck and shoulders. And just when my body started shaking uncontrollably, he sank his fangs into my inner thigh. My knees buckled, but he held me up. He looked up at me a few seconds later, and if it weren't _my_ body he'd fed off of, I never would have known he'd fed at all. He was much neater than Bill when it came to things like that.

"Your hair looks stunning, lover. Almost like I would expect an angel to look." He said before kissing his way back to my mouth. "You taste like a lollipop." He whispered in my ear, and I blushed just a little. He kissed my cheek, and then got in the shower to start getting ready for the ball.

o.O.o.O.o

I looked at myself in the mirror, completely impressed with what I saw staring back at me. I don't mean to sound conceited, but I looked pretty good. Eric had been right when he said my hair looked stunning. My makeup was perfectly, and the jewelry I'd found in Gran's old jewelry boxes matched the dress nicely. Gran had always told me that if you ever doubted what to wear, you could never go wrong with pearls. So, that's what I did. I was wearing pearl earrings and a pearl bracelet. That was enough for me. Eric appeared behind me in an expensive black suit, and tie that was the same shade of red as the bottom layer of my dress.

"My Gothic angel." He smiled at me.

"You don't look too bad yourself, there, Mister." I smiled at our reflections in the mirror. "I have something for you." I remembered the cufflinks I had picked up at the antique shop the day before, and went to retrieve them from their hiding place. I handed him the small box the Shifter had putt hem in for me. "If you don't like them, it's okay. I just thought you when I saw them."

He opened the box to look at his gift. "This is acceptable." He said, and I shook my head and laughed. "I mean, they are very nice. Thank you, Sookie."

"You're welcome." I plucked one from the box and fastened it to one sleeve before doing the same thing with the remaining link.

"Shall we?" He held out his arm to me once the links were fastened in place.

"We shall." I grabbed my little clutch purse off the bed, and we walked out of the room together arm in arm.

Either I hadn't noticed it before, or it was new, but music was playing in the hallway. I spotted small speakers in the walls, and I wondered how I ever could have missed them before. It was classical music with a dark edge to it, but I had no idea who it was I was hearing. My dress made an interesting sound as it brushed against my legs. The beads made an almost tinkling sound as my dress moved with my body. Eric's arm unlinked itself from mine, and I felt the coolness of his hand on my backside. I smiled up at him, but said nothing.

He led me to the ballroom. Inside I could hear very different music playing. It sounded like your average party inside. I had never been to a vampire party before, and I wasn't sure of what to expect. I held my breath as the doors flew open, and the second we were in the room, my jaw just dropped. It was a beautiful room. Black and red were draped everywhere. Where there wasn't black and red, there was gold. Tables were set up around the room for people to sit at. The chairs were gold. The table clothes were black, and there were blood red roses in the centers of the tables. I had expected to see champagne flutes, but instead there were goblets. Crystal chandeliers that were taller than me hung from the ceiling. Red and black candles burned in antique candelabras. It took me a minute to realize that the red candles were blood scented. For me it wasn't the most attractive scent in the world, but I'm sure for the vampires it smelled like heaven.

It seemed as though we were the last to arrive. The fangbangers on hand for snacking purposes wore black and red as well, but they would have been easy to spot even if they weren't wearing name tags like the rest of us humans. I looked around with wide-eyed curiosity until I felt someone staring at me. I turned to the left, and there was Sophie Anne. She wore a sleek black dress with rubies hanging off of her like they were going out of style. Her lips were just as red as they had been when I met her. Her eyes were still just as piercing, and her hair was styled in a very Veronica Lake sort of fashion. She glided toward us so smoothly it almost seemed as if she were floating. Heck, for all I know, that's exactly what she was doing.

"Your Majesty, you look magnificent." Eric nodded to Sophie.

"Thank you, Sheriff." She curtsied, and then turned her eyes to me. "You look like a little doll."

"Thank you." She made me nervous. "Your necklace is lovely."

"I've had this since the twelfth century. It was a gift from a Barron in France." She looked down at it adoringly. I wondered if it really had been a gift, or if she had glamoured him into giving it to her. "Well, I have to make the rounds, but Sheriff, do save a dance for me." Sophie told him.

"Yes, your Majesty." Eric nodded again, and we watched her glide away to the next sheriff. "Miss Stackhouse, would you care to dance?" Eric asked me.

There was no one else on the dance floor, but someone had to get the party going. "Sure." I took his hand, and allowed him to lead me out to the center of the room.

The music changed, almost as if Eric had planned for this to happen. I'm not a real graceful dancer, and I have absolutely no formal training whatsoever. Yet I somehow was able to keep up with the dance that Eric was doing. He was far more graceful than I was, which probably shouldn't have surprised me, but it did. We swayed from end to end of the dance floor with everyone in the room watching us. As the dance came to an end, Eric dipped me back so far that my back was almost parallel to the floor. He kissed me, and then picked me up. I felt the heat of a blush on my cheeks, and curtsied politely when people around us applauded our efforts.

I looked around the room, and that was when my eyes caught Bill's. He looked wounded and furious at the same time, but I had to shake that off. I couldn't spend the whole night worrying about Bill. There were much bigger fish to fry, I was sure of that. For now, Bill was nothing more than an annoying housefly I couldn't seem to swat away. I couldn't let him grow into a bigger problem than he already was. Isolde was curled around him, in spite of being a few inches taller than he was. Her long hair had been sectioned and braided and then looped around to create what appeared to be a halo. Her dress was deep red, and nicely complimented the ancient tuxedo Bill was wearing. It looked to me like the kind of thing Bill could have worn when he was a human.

Eric pulled me away from the dance floor, and introduced me to several other sheriffs. I talked with some of the people I'd met at dinner the night before, trying to keep the conversations to small talk and nothing more. The fewer of these people that got in my head, the better. Fangbangers sniffed around Eric all night long, all of them wanting to be bitten by the infamous Viking Vampire than ran Area 5. But he stayed at my side. When he got thirsty, he had a goblet of Tru Blood.

We danced some more. Sometimes together, and sometimes with other parties. The sheriff of Area 9 was a good looking vampire by the name of Dante. He was tall, dark and handsome. He was the kind of vampire you would expect to see on the cover of some grocery store romance novel. His shoulder length black hair was pulled back, and he wore a pinstriped fedora. He wore a red zoot suit, if you can believe that, and Eric would later tell me that Dante had been made sheriff of his area all the way back in the 1940s. I had no idea that the vampire hierarchy had been established so long ago. You learn something new everyday, right?

He was quite a dancer, and I had a hard time keeping up with him. Between the inflexibility of the dress I was wearing and the high heels on my feet, I felt completely uncoordinated next to him. I looked across the room to see Eric dancing with one of the Banshees I'd met the night before. She was a beautiful woman, but Eric kept looking back at me. I felt this warmth squeezing my heart, and I saw something flicker in his eyes. I knew that look. I'd seen it many times before, but none so strong as the first time he ever looked at me. When the song ended, I thanked Dante for the dance and excused myself. The Banshee didn't seem happy to see me approaching.

"Eric, can I borrow a moment of your time?" I asked with big flirty eyes.

"Of course. Please excuse me, Fiona." Eric walked away from Fiona, and followed me across the hall. "Where are you going, lover?"

As we had been walking into the room earlier I had noticed a small space set up for guests to leave their coats, wraps and bags. The room was pitch black and empty. I pulled Eric into the room, and toward the far end of it. I grabbed his face and kissed him. "You remember that research you did when I tried this dress on?" I kissed him again.

"I do." His hands were already gathering up the material of my dress, and I smiled against his mouth.

I moved my head over ever so slightly so my lips were against his ear. I actually felt him shiver just a little at the feeling of my breath there, and on his neck. I bit his ear as his hands slipped under the skirt of my dress. I gasped quietly and then whispered, "Fuck me."

He growled at me, and then flashed a devilish smile before complying with my command. He had me up against the wall so that I was facing away from him. The skirt of my dress was bunched up around my waist, my panties were torn away. I heard him unzipper his pants, and then he was in me. Growling and thrusting, his hands finding mine so they clasped together. I moaned and whispered his name. The fact that someone could walk in at any moment didn't phase me one bit. I was completely lost in that moment. His mouth found the back of my neck. He let go of one of my hands to lift my hair before sinking his fangs into my neck. I had to cover my mouth to keep from screaming when I came. I slumped against the wall, trying to catch my breath as Eric continued to thrust into me. Each thrust was deliberate, and shook my entire body. He adjusted the way we were standing as if he had some sort of internal censors that told him exactly what to do, and where to go, and before I knew it, I was stifling another loud moan with the palm of my hand.

When he was finished, I thought he was going to crush me against that wall. I just stood there with my chest heaving and my knees shaking, my dress acting as a slight wedge between our bodies. He was kissing my neck and shoulders, and then zipping up his pants. I fixed my skirt before turning around, and I noticed that he picked up my torn panties and put them in his pocket. Didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what he was going to do with those. He put his hand back on my rear end, and walked out of the little coat closet with me like nothing had happened.


	10. Disarm

**Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd this is the chapter where the OOC goes off the charts. This chapter is the reason I didn't want to post this story, but there was no way to change it without changing the way the story ends and I didn't want to do a whole rewrite. It is what it is. Forgive an uninformed newbie her transgressions. At least I've gotten better since this, but I still struggle with Eric. Anyway...try to enjoy the show.**

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**Chapter Nine: Disarm**

I got the distinct feeling that everyone in the room had noticed when Eric and I walked out. More than that, I got the feeling they knew precisely where we had gone, and what we had been up to. I tried not to be too obvious, but I'm sure my face was flushed, and there was just the lightest film of sweat on my shoulders. It didn't help that I was leaning on Eric much more than I had been the rest of the night. I was a little wobbly in my four inch heels. Eric took a seat at one of the tables, and pulled me down onto his lap. He was whispering things in my ear in that language I didn't understand, but I smiled all the same. He grazed small kisses on my neck just under my ear, and he nipped at my earlobe with his fangs. I was blissfully happy. That should have been a warning sign right there that something crappy was about to happen.

"Well, well, don't you two look cozy together?" Sophie Anne stood over us with a look of amusement on her face. "Sookie, you are positively glowing."

"Thank you." I was naive enough to let my happiness blind me. It was quite enjoyable to have Eric cooing in my ear. I could have stayed in that moment for a long time.

"I hate to interrupt, but I need Eric for a moment." Sophie Anne smirked at me.

I stood up slowly so I wouldn't fall over and make a fool of myself. "I will be right back, lover." Eric kissed the back of my hand, and then walked away.

Abbie sidled up next to me and sat down. "You look like you're having a good time."

"I am having a phenomenal time." I smiled at her. When a waiter passed by, I collected two flutes of champagne, and offered one to Abbie.

"I don't drink, but thank you." She smiled at me.

I put the spare glass down on the table, and sipped the one in my hand. "So are all of her Majesty's parties this extravagant?"

"Pretty much." Abbie looked across the room, and I followed her gaze. "Sophie Anne isn't really known for doing much of anything on a small scale."

"I can see that." I took another drink of my champagne. A cool hand graze my shoulder, and I turned to see Bill standing behind me. "Hello Bill." I said as graciously as I could muster.

"Good evening, Sookie, Abbie." He nodded to each of us. "You both look lovely."

"Thank you." Abbie and I said in unison.

"Would you care to dance, Sookie?" Bill asked me.

I thought it over for a second, but figured it couldn't do much harm. "Sure." I took his hand, and walked out to the dance floor with him.

I was happy to see that I wasn't the center of attention this time. Like Eric, Bill was a good dancer, but I knew that already. There had been nights when it would be raining, and we would dance to old music he recalled from his youth in his drafty living room. Being that close to him again was a reminder of just how much I'd changed in the last six months. I realized then that there was a difference between feeling protected and smothered. With Eric, I felt protected. With Bill, I'd felt smothered, and I had been confusing the two.

"These are your Grandmother's pearls, aren't they?" He pushed some of my hair back to take a closer look at them.

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"You showed them to me once when you were cleaning out her room." He reminded me. I had completely forgotten about that. "They look good on you."

"Thank you." I smiled softly, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable being so close to him.

His hand moved just enough to brush more of my hair out of the way, and I heard the clicking of his fangs. "He has fed on you." He said with the unmistakable tone of jealousy and disgust mixed together.

"He has," I looked at him challengingly. "But I don't see how that is any of your business anymore."

Anger flared in Bill's eyes. "I thought you were smarter than that, Sookie."

I let go of Bill, and stood still. "Don't you dare go and take that smug tone with me, mister. You don't own me. You don't get to order me around. And you certainly don't get to tell me who can or can't feed on me. I don't need your permission to do one damn thing in this world. So you just go on back to your friend, and keep away from me." I tried to keep my voice down, but the tension between us attracted the attention of the other vampires in the room.

Anytime a vampire senses a potential fight, they suddenly form a pack like they're all ready to take part in the kill. If it weren't for the fact that it was known I was Eric's human, I'm sure they would have torn me apart just for the experience of it. As it was, I stomped off the dance floor with Abbie following me out of the room.

"That wasn't very smart." She seemed nervous.

"He had it coming." I said angrily.

"Sophie Anne doesn't like it when her sheriffs fight over humans." Abbie told me.

"Well for what it's worth, I don't much care for it when her sheriffs fight over me either. Besides, Bill isn't a sheriff." I wanted to hit something, and with that little bit of Eric's blood working its way through my body it was getting harder and harder to control myself.

"That's not the point. This isn't Fangtasia, Sookie. Eric's rules do not apply here. What Sophie Anne wants, Sophie Anne gets. She's got an entire army of vampires who can make it happen. I know you're smart enough to understand what that means." She gave me a pointed stare.

And then Eric was at my side. "Leave us." Eric told Abbie, who immediately hightailed it away from us. "What happened?"

I explained what happened to Eric, who tried to keep a straight face, but I could tell by his eyes that he wasn't happy. "It was stupid, Eric. It shouldn't have happened." I concluded.

"No, it should not. Especially since Bill knows better than anyone what it means when a human says he or she belongs to another vampire. I could have him sent to the Magister for this." Eric looked over my shoulder and into the ball room.

"No, Eric, it's not worth it. He just needs some time to adjust."

"That is the human way, Sookie. The vampire way is different." Eric reminded me.

"Can we please just go back inside and try to have a good time?"

"Are you sure that's what you want?" He seemed concerned for me.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm here with you, and this is important to you. That means it's important to me." I squeezed his hand.

"Alright then." He nodded, and gestured for me to walk ahead of him.

"Sookie, there you are!" Sophie Anne exclaimed as if we were old friends from elementary school who hadn't seen each other in decades. She glided toward me quickly, and actually hugged me.

When she did, I got one of my flashes I sometimes I get from a vampire. While she looked happy as could be on the outside, she was roiling with anger on the inside. If it weren't for Eric, she would have torn my throat out already for disrupting the flow of her evening. No one is supposed to be getting more attention than she is, and so far it seemed to her as if all eyes had been on me. I pulled away from her a little too abruptly, and I could tell she was doing her best to glamour me. Boy was she in for a nasty surprise.

"I'm sorry for the disturbance, your Majesty." I apologized quickly, thinking maybe that would cool her jets some.

"What disturbance? Oh that thing with William?" She shrugged it off. "Men. If they can't share your bed, they want nothing to do with you."

I wish it were that simple, believe me. If that were the case, I wouldn't have stormed out of the room like a spoiled child. I felt like I should say something, but I didn't know what. How many times could I compliment her appearance or her home without sounding like an idiot? In the end, Eric asked Sophie Anne to dance, and I was off the hook. Never in my life had I ever wished I was invisible more than I did at that moment. I tried to shrink inside of myself, that didn't do much. I sat down at the table once again, and waited for Eric to finish his dance. Once it was over, he went on to dance with the sheriff from Area 6. I just kept to myself for a bit, not wanting to cause any more trouble than I already head.

Eventually Eric returned to our table, and took the seat next to mine. "You looked bored, lover." He leaned in closely to me.

"No, not bored, just...out of place." I half smiled at him. "I don't belong here, Eric."

"Then we should go." He held out his hand to me.

"You can't. You have to stay here. What do you think your boss is going to say if you just skip out on her big party early?"

"You worry too much, Sookie. Let me deal with it." He tugged me up, even though I was struggling to stay in my seat.

"Eric, no, come on, let's just stay. It's not that big of a deal." I insisted. "This is a big night for you, and I don't want you getting in any trouble on account of me." I was insisting even as he was trying to push me toward the door. Picking me up and carting me out would have been far too obvious.

"Let her go, Eric." Bill said from behind me.

"Dammit, Bill, now isn't the time." I muttered quietly, but loud enough for him to hear it.

"It would do you well, Mr. Compton to remember two things: first, I am your Sheriff, and therefore, you do not get to tell me what to do. Second of all, this is her Majesty's home, and she does not take kindly to interruptions." Eric reminded Bill, but he had let go of me.

This was going nowhere good way too fast. I tried to step between them, but fangs were out and ready to be used. I tried reasoning with Eric first, thinking maybe I had a snowball's chance in hell of getting him to think a little more rationally. I used to think that Eric was the hothead, and that Bill had a cooler approach to problem solving. Maybe that had been true for a while, but it was clear to me now that if that had ever been the case, it wasn't anymore. Now, I've never taken a punch from a vampire, but I can't imagine it feels too good. So when Bill was stupid enough to take a swing at Eric, I gasped. There was a part of me that wanted to dive between the two of them to keep them from tearing one another apart, but that would be suicide.

Before I knew it the two of them were snarling and acting like caged animals. Other sheriffs tried to get between them to break up the fight, but were unsuccessful. I looked around for Sophie Anne, hoping that she wasn't witnessing this display. It could potentially get them both killed, and what good would that too. And then she was right behind me. She grabbed me by my throat, and dragged me over to where Bill and Eric were rolling around on the floor.

"It would be a shame if I had to kill this delightful little telepath just to settle an argument amongst gentlemen." Sophie Anne's fangs were extended. "But I am willing to bet she has some of the sweetest blood I'll ever taste."

Eric and Bill stopped simultaneously, and looked up to find me dangling in the air with Sophie Anne's hand wrapped around my throat. Eric growled at her, while I tried to pry her fingers away from my throat. I was coughing and kicking around, trying to get her to put me down. My word was she strong. It felt like my throat was locked in an iron vice, and her fingernails were digging into my skin mercilessly. Tiny beads of blood were rolling down my throat, and the vampires in the room were all suddenly ready to attack.

"Your Majesty, if you will just let Sookie down, I will do whatever you ask-"

"You will do it anyway, Sheriff, because I own you." Sophie Anne roared at him in a voice that didn't sound anything like the sweet teenager voice she'd been using all this time. "Is this human worth dying for, Viking?"

Eric looked at me, and it was hard to say what he was thinking. My eyes started to roll, and my vision was blurred. I was going to pass out at any moment. "Yes, your Majesty, she is." Eric said in a quiet, but clear voice.

"Then I will take your life for hers. Take him now." Sophie Anne said, and I was absolutely helpless to fight back.

The last thing I saw was Eric being carted away by a whole crew of vampire security guards. Then, everything went black.

o.O.o.O.o

I awoke in the bed I had been assigned to with Abbie sitting beside me, dabbing my head with a cool cloth. My throat was beyond sore, and just the idea of talking caused me pain. "Don't talk, Sookie." Abbie warned me.

"Eric." I whispered, and she looked solemnly in the other direction. My eyes welled with tears, and I wanted to scream. "Wasn't his fault." I whispered instead.

"That doesn't matter, Sookie. You know vampires don't play by the same rules as humans. That's how you came to work for Eric in the first place." She reminded me.

I started to cry, and she continued to dab at my head with cloth. I didn't know what happened to Eric, but it was all my fault. Suddenly, I had a vision of him chained up with silver somewhere in the house. Was my dream a prophecy? "Must find Eric." I tried to sit up, but she wouldn't let me.

"No, Sookie, you can't. Where Eric has gone, you cannot follow." Abbie told me, and I started to sob.

"Is he dead?" I asked.

"I don't know. He could be." She admitted reluctantly.

I pushed her hand away and rolled onto my side. _What have I done?_, I asked myself over and over again. It dawned on me then that I loved Eric. I hadn't allowed myself to think in such terms before, but I knew it now. Of course, now it was too late to tell him that. Abbie got up to freshen the cloth she had been using as a compress, and while she was in the bathroom I moved closer to the side of the bed that had been Eric's. There was a heavy lamp there, and I knew what I was going to have to do when she came back. I got off the bed, and picked up the lamp. Before Abbie knew what was happening, I swung the lamp hard, hitting her square in the temple. Thanks to the little bit of Eric's blood in my system I was stronger than usual. She went flying across the room and bounced off a wall before landing on the floor, knocked out from one blow. Blood poured from the cut on the side of her head, and without a second thought, I ran out of the room to go find Eric.

o.O.o.O.o

I didn't even make it to the end of the hall before a cold white hand reached out and grabbed me. I screamed, but my mouth was covered .My fighting instincts kicked in, and I started kicking and swinging immediately. "Sookie, it is me." Bill said before letting me go. "What do you think you are doing?"

"I'm going to find Eric." I said with determination.

"You cannot." He ordered me.

"You aren't the boss of me, Bill Compton, and it's thanks to you that Eric is probably chained up somewhere in this house fixin' to die for me because you couldn't keep your mouth shut. Well I don't need you to rescue me anymore, you got that? I'm a big girl! I can take care of myself." I almost kicked him in the shin, I was so mad.

"If you do not keep your voice down, it is going to get you killed." Bill warned me.

"Being around you is going to get me killed." I retaliated. My temper was calling the shots big time.

"Sookie, I want to help you. I know it is my fault that Eric is in danger. Please, let me go with you." He pleaded.

"And how do I know that you aren't just going to feed me to the lions, Bill? The Bill Compton that I loved and trusted would have respected me enough to walk away when I asked him to. Why couldn't you just listen to me? Why do you have to be the damn hero all the time?"

"Because I love you, Sookie." He told me. I wanted to roll my eyes at him, and maybe if he didn't look so sincere, I might have done just that. "I cannot just stand by and watch someone hurt you. I will not."

"He wasn't hurting me, Bill." I sighed, and pulled off my high heels. If I had to run, I couldn't very well do that in four inch pumps.

"I remember the first time I ever saw those shoes." Bill watched as I set them aside. Now really wasn't the time for a walk down memory lane, but unfortunately he had a point. I needed his help. There was no way I could take on a bunch of vampires by myself. Not to mention, I didn't have the slightest clue where to start looking for Eric. "The first night we went to Fangtasia. The night you met Eric. I knew then that I would lose you to him someday."

So there it was. All of the fighting and silly little pissing contests I had endured were all because of Bill's insecurity. "Do you want to know why you lost me to Eric?" I asked Bill. He gave me this blank stare. "It's not because he's more attractive, or because he has more power or money or anything like that. It's because he lets me breathe. You held onto me too tight, Bill. I loved you. I loved you with all my heart, but that never seemed like it was good enough. It seemed like there was always something else you wanted from me, someone you wanted me to be. I am who I am, Bill. This is it. Just plain old Sookie, just like I told you the night we met. I'm a waitress, and I'm a good ole southern girl who doesn't want much out of life other than to be happy."

"I thought that we were." Bill looked away from me.

"For a while. But we have very different lives, Bill, and we see the world in very different ways. And the most important thing you could ever do for yourself is to learn to accept what you are. You've had a hundred and fifty year head start on me, and you aren't even close to that yet. But Eric? Eric knows exactly what he is. More importantly, he sees me for what I am. If you coulda done that, there's no tellin' where we'd be right now. I'm sure it wouldn't be in this room trying to figure a way to save Eric's life." I smiled at the last bit, hoping my frail attempt at humor would break the sour look on Bill's face. "Look, I'm running out of time here, Bill. So if you're gonna help me, you're gonna have to suck it up. Choice is yours." I started toward the door.

Now, you're probably wondering how one sneaks around in a house full of vampires. This is where it comes in handy to be traveling with a vampire yourself. Bill simply picked me up, and sped off. He seemed to know where he was going, and if anyone saw us on the move, we were nothing more than a blur. As my dream seemed to predict, there was a dungeon, of sorts, underneath the house.

"He's in there." I'm guessing Bill knew that by sniffing Eric out. I reached for the doorknob, but he pulled me back. "No. You cannot go in."

"But I have to." I whispered as quietly as I could.

"It is a trap, Sookie. There is no one at the door, which means they are waiting for you in there. If you go in, it will be the end for both of you." Bill advised.

A familiar voice spoke in its eloquent tone. "Sookie will not go in alone, and if you are too afraid, then I will go." It was Pam.

If she wouldn't have been so against it, I would have hugged her. You could have knocked me over with a feather, I was so surprised to see Pam standing there. "How did you-"

"You are not the only one he's bonded to." Pam said pointedly with her trademark condescension.

"Right." I nodded.

"By my estimation he's been in there for almost three hours." Pam looked at her watch, which was when I noticed she was wearing gloves. I never noticed that Pam wore a watch before, and I was curious as to what the gloves were for. Hmmm... "We have to move quickly."

"Have you brought reinforcements?" Bill asked, earning him a look that said he was even dumber than I was.

"No, I thought maybe you and I would sit on the sidelines and call out plays for Sookie." Pam rolled her eyes, and then muttered something in another language. Normally, I secretly enjoyed Pam's biting sarcasm, but now just wasn't the time for it. I didn't know how old Pam was, but I knew she'd been with Eric for a long time. Her loyalty to him was extremely strong. But that's the way it is between a Maker and a Child. I also knew that she would defend Eric to the death, if she had to. She turned to me and asked, "Sookie, darling, how do you feel about being bait?" There was a glimmer in her eyes.

I gulped, knowing this was the precise scenario Eric had been concerned about before. I bet he never figured that Pam would be the one to use me as bait. "If it means getting Eric out of here alive, I'll do it."

"Sookie, no-" Bill stepped closer to me in a protective way.

"Oh would you put a sock in it already? She's moved on. I would advise you to do the same." Pam said to Bill without taking her eyes off me. "She's a big girl. She can choose for herself what is worth dying for."

I tried my hardest not to let it show, but I was awful scared. I took a few deep breaths while I listened to Pam's game plan. What I wondered was how come no one was coming out to stop us. Vampires have the most amazing hearing, and the mansion was crawling with them. How come there wasn't a single one coming to try and stop us. Maybe I'd misjudged Sophie Anne's security detail. Maybe they were too busy snacking on fangbangers to be paying attention to the disobedient sheriff of Area 5.

"You're up, cupcake." Pam smiled at me, and gave me a slight shove toward the doors.

My hands shook as I reached for the doorknob. Silver. It was a silver doorknob. Not to sound too much like Eric, or anything, but how interesting. I turned the knob, and pushed the door open slowly. As soon as the door was open, Pam and Bill went rushing into the room like they were going to lay down cover for me. I felt like I was in the middle of a really bad cop movie, or something. They scanned the darkness for whatever might be lurking, while I was looking for Eric. Just as I suspected, he was chained to the wall with silver. My heart just broke while I stood there.

Pam saw him at the same time I did, and she was at his side in an instant. She went to work trying to pry the chains from the walls, but I could hear a sizzling sound through her gloves. If Eric got out of this alive, he was going to owe her big time. There are few things in the world that Eric hates more than owing someone a favor. Especially someone he is a superior to. I know that from first hand experience. With Bill right behind me, keeping an eye out for whoever, or whatever, else might be hiding in the dark, I approached Eric slowly. His eyes had drooped, but they weren't shut. He looked every bit as gaunt and exhausted as I had dreamed he would look, only seeing it for real was far worse.

"Eric..." I reached up to touch him, but his fangs extended, and he snarled at me,

Bill pulled me back and said, "The silver does things. It is best if you do not touch him just yet."

"Eric, it's Sookie. We're going to get you out of here." I whispered to him.

"Oh I don't think so." Sophie Anne stood in the doorway. "I could stake every last one of you before you even had a chance to think about how to retaliate."

"Please, your Majesty, let him go." I turned to her, but she just smiled. "He was just trying to defend me."

"He was defending his pride, Miss Stackhouse. We both know that." Sophie Anne kept right on smiling at me. Pam didn't seem to care that the Queen of Louisiana was in the room. She kept right on yanking at the chains. "You know, you could yank on those chains all night long, and the only thing you're going to do is lose your hands." Sophie Anne chuckled.

Pam called her something in a language I didn't understand, and less than a second later found herself slammed against the wall. "Is that all you've got?" Pam challenged.

"As your Maker, I command you to go. Take Sookie with you." Eric told Pam.

"Eric, you don't know what you're saying." Pam was trying to disregard him, but with whatever last bit of strength he had, he rose his head and glared at Pam. "You are disobedient. You are lazy. But you have always been loyal. Just this once, please do what I ask. Take Sookie, and get out of here." Eric ordered.

"Eric, I won't go." I stood my ground.

"Yes you will. Pam, take her." Eric nodded toward me.

Pam snarled at Sophie Anne while Bill picked me up and carried me out of the room. Pam was right behind us.

"You realize that she could still kill us all for this." Bill looked harshly at Pam.

"You know I've never staked another vampire before, but I'm willing to change that." Pam glared right back at him.

"If you two are going to kill each other, could you please let me out of the way?" I asked, still thrown over Bill's shoulder.

He set me down on my feet, and I leaned against the wall. "Sookie, we should leave. Now." Bill told me.

"You go. I can't until I know what she's going to do with Eric." I waved him off.

"Sookie there is nothing you can do to save him." Bill argued with me.

"Maybe not. But I want to at least be able to say that I tried." I shrugged, and hung my head as tears started to fall.

Pam muttered something next to me. A scream came from the room we'd just left, and I rushed toward the doors again. Bill picked me up and carried me out of the house, leaving everything behind in my room. It was all replaceable, really, but none of that really mattered to me. What mattered to me was Eric, and there was nothing I could do to help him. If I never saw him again the last thing I would ever hear from his lips was a scream that pulverized what was left of my heart.

* * *

**God this is awful. Why the hell did I make Eric such an idiot? It's sad I can't even remember. NOW do you see why I didn't want to post this? Ugh. **


	11. Save the Last Dance

**Sooooooooo here it is, the final chapter. Thanks for reading this. **

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Save The Last Dance For Me**

Bill brought me home, though I was kicking and screaming the whole way. I didn't sleep at all that night. I paced my house for hours, unable to get myself to sit still for more than a few minutes. I couldn't get the sound of Eric's scream out of my head. I would never have thought he was capable of making such a noise, and I worried that even if, by some miracle, Sophie Anne decided to let him go, he would never be the same. While it was true that Eric _should_ heal quickly at his age, there was no guarantee that would happen. Bill offered to stay with me, and when I declined, he outright demanded I allow him to stay. I refused to invite him into the house, but he patrolled the perimeter until he had to retire for the day. I was exhausted, by then, but I still couldn't sleep. Part of me was terrified that Sophie had some of her human employees load Eric into a car and drop him by the side of the road. After watching Godric burn to death...well...let's just say I was praying that Eric wouldn't go out the same way.

I called Fangtasia at least a dozen times before the sun rose, and I'm pretty sure by the end of the night, Pam was wishing Sophie Anne would have staked me. I sat on my couch like a zombie for a couple of hours, just staring off into space. I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I could barely move. How many times had Eric put his life on the line for me now? And I couldn't even bother to tell him that I loved him. I'd had so many chances to do that, I just let them all slip away because I was afraid of what he might say. I felt like an idiot.

Finally, my body decided that enough was enough, and it overpowered my brain into a restless sleep. I had that same dream about Eric in the dungeon. Only this time, Sophie Anne pelted Eric with tiny pieces of silver that stuck to his skin, and then smeared his sounds with a garlic puree. The garlic caused an allergic reaction, and Eric began to vomit violently. Whatever blood was left in his body was now coming out of his mouth. She taunted him for being such a fool, for trading his life for the life of a human. I dreamt that he was dying, and the last thing he ever said was my name.

I moved like a zombie through the next couple of days. I went to work, and barely said a word. Sam, Jason, Tara and Arlene all wanted to know what was eating at me, but I just couldn't talk about it. I wanted to tell them all, but it was just too much to explain. They tried to find ways to cheer me up, but it just wasn't happening. When I wasn't at work I was at home laying in bed. I couldn't even go sit out in the sun without thinking of Eric. In my dreams I kept seeing him laying on the side of the road as the sun came up. I would wake up with a churning stomach, and twice I'd actually vomited. Eric had offered his life in place of mine before, but it was different those other times. In the past, it was almost like a reflex that he couldn't control. This time, he had consciously made the decision, and he'd said it out loud in front of everyone.

A vampire was willing to give his life for a human. It wasn't supposed to be like that. He wasn't supposed to fall in love with me. It was okay for him to use me for money, food and sex, but not for love. It was a cardinal rule of being a vampire, and it hadn't just happened once with me. I suspected part of the reason Sophie Anne was willing to trade Eric's life for mine was because she was disappointed in him as a leader. Not only could he not control Bill, but he had broken the rules, and developed feelings for me. This was all my fault. If I had just stayed away from Eric then none of this would be happening. He wouldn't be hurt/tortured/dead somewhere, and I wouldn't be sitting on my couch like a vegetable worrying about him.

I moved like a ghost from one activity, or location, to the next without much thought. I would zone out for hours at a time, replaying the events that had happened over the weekend in attempts to make sense of it. If I just thought about it enough, I'm sure I could put all of the pieces together to figure out why Sophie Anne had been giving me the chills all weekend long. It wasn't just because she was a vampire. That part barely phased me. Maybe it was the power she had that got to me. I don't know. All I know is that the more I thought about it, the less it all made sense. I knew if I didn't find a way to snap out of it, I was going to lose whatever was left of my sanity.

Finally a week after getting back from New Orleans, I was at work on a Saturday night. I was determined to throw myself into work to keep my mind off of Eric. I was pretty sure by then that he was dead. I hadn't heard a thing from him, or from any of the vampires in Shreveport. That wasn't a good sign. I'd called Pam a couple of times, and at first, she'd seemed hopeful that somehow Eric would be released. But by the fifth day, she didn't sound so sure. When I called after getting off work the night before, she seemed annoyed with me. She didn't just come right out and say she blamed me, but it was implied by the way she talked to me. Honestly, I thought she was right. It was my fault.

So there I was on Saturday with my plastic smile glued to my face. When I looked in the mirror I realized how crazy I looked that night. I was smiling, but there was no light in my eyes. They were vacant and dull, and I felt like a shell of the person I had been just a week before. I was so tired by that point that I didn't have the strength to keep my mental shields up, and I could hear every single thought from every single person in the bar. I had just stepped outside to take a break when another car pulled into the parking lot. I sat on the steps of Sam's trailer, the way I did sometimes when I didn't want to be bothered by anyone who might be coming or going from the bar.

"Sookie?" It was Abbie.

"Abbie." I stood up quickly, looking for something to defend myself with. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here on business. The Queen sent me with your belongings." Abbie explained. "I don't suppose there's a way you could accompany me back to your home?"

"I would have to check with my boss. It's Saturday night, so it's awful busy inside." My hands shook, so I stuffed them into my apron pockets.

"You have an interesting uniform. Is the bar one of those topless places?" She asked, and I almost laughed.

"No." I walked down the steps, and noticed the lump on the side of her head from where I'd hit her. "Listen, Abbie, I'm really sorry that I hit you with that lamp."

"You did this?" She touched the side of her head. She seemed almost impressed. "I never would have figured you were that strong."

"I had to get to Eric, and-" I stopped there. "How is he?"

"It's hard to say." She looked away from me.

"Is he alive?" I held my breath while I waited for an answer.

"Is a vampire ever really alive?" She shrugged.

What an infuriating answer that was, let me tell you. If I'd had another lamp, I would have hit the other side of her head. "You know what I mean. She didn't like, have him dumped on the side of the road before sunrise, did she?"

Abbie laughed, which I didn't appreciate. "Not to my knowledge, but I wouldn't be surprised if she did."

"If you'll wait here, I'll go talk to Sam." I started toward the bar.

"He must have loved you very much to trade your life for his." Abbie said from behind me. "I have watched the world destroy itself for centuries. Sometimes it's manmade tragedy, and sometimes it's a natural disaster that brings a person to their knees. He was willing to sacrifice himself without a thought to what she might do to him. And from what I can tell, you miss him a great deal, but you keep moving on. You are a strong person, Sookie Stackhouse. Don't ever take that for granted."

I took in her words, but went into the bar without replying to her. I didn't know what to say, but figured maybe it was better if I didn't even bother coming up with a reply. If Eric was dead, what difference would it make anyway?

o.O.o.O.o

Another week went by, and there was still no word from Eric. While my hope had lasted a little longer than Pam's, I was seriously starting to wonder if maybe it was a lost cause. I started to resign myself to the idea that Eric was dead. I mean _really_ dead. Like, for good, dead. The bags that Abbie had brought back to me had remained packed, and in the foyer of the house. I just couldn't bring myself to unpack them yet. I finally decided it was time to stop procrastinating, and get on with things. Those bags could sit there forever, and they wouldn't bring Eric back. I cried through the first bag, and wasn't much better with the second. Especially when I realized that the cufflinks I had given Eric were inside. I assumed that Abbie somehow was able to get them back. Why she would think I'd want them after they were paid for with Sophie Anne's money, I have no idea. I threw them in a junk drawer anyway, thinking maybe I'd pawn them or something.

I had just thrown a load of laundry in the machine, and was about to make myself something to eat when there was a knock at the front door. I hadn't heard any cars pull up to the house, and it's hard not to with all that gravel out front. For a moment I thought it might be Bill coming to check on me, but I had made it pretty clear to him that I didn't need his protection, nor did I want his company. I didn't want him haunting me, or hovering over me. I just wanted some time to myself to deal with things. Maybe someday we could be friends, but I wasn't ready for that just yet. I needed time to heal my wounds.

I went to the front door expecting to find a Supe of some sort staring back at me. I wasn't disappointed.

"Hello, lover." It was Eric.

My jaw dropped, and I'm pretty sure my heart stopped for a second. "I thought you were dead." I squeaked out, trying to stifle a sob that was building in my throat.

"It was a close call." He confessed, his eyes intense.

"I am so happy to see you." I threw my arms around him, squeezing him as tightly as I could. "How are you here?" I looked up at him after a minute.

"I flew."

"You took a plane from Shreveport to Bon Temps?"

"Not exactly." Eric stepped back, descending the front steps without looking, which I thought was pretty impressive. Then he began to levitate, and I remembered that he could fly all on his own. Man, did I feel like a dummy, but I was shocked just to see him. The fact that he could fly had totally skipped my mind. He floated back onto the porch, and landed right in front of me. "I would have liked to come see you sooner, but I wanted to wait until I was healed."

"Healed?" I gulped.

"Her Majesty let me live, but only after keeping me in her dungeon for a week." Eric explained, looking me in the eyes. "She threw silver dust at me and then rubbed me down with garlic paste to make sure it stuck." I closed my eyes, knowing how painful that had to be for him. "I almost wished I was dead by the time she was finished with me."

"Oh Eric, I am so sorry." I knew it wasn't anywhere near good enough. There would never be words enough to show him how much I appreciated what he had done for me. "You shouldn't have offered yourself. I would have been fine."

"No you wouldn't. Her Majesty would have killed you without a second thought. And on top of that, she still would have punished me because you are my human." Eric said that last bit before he could stop himself. That was the closest he'd ever come to calling me his girlfriend.

"But if I'm so much trouble, then why doesn't she just have me killed?"

"Because as I have told you before, lover, you have far more value than you know. Whether she likes it or not, she is going to need your services one day, and that day will come sooner than either of you know." Eric told me, and I wondered just what he was talking about. He knew something he wasn't going to tell me. Not at that moment, anyway.

"Would you like to come in?" I stepped back.

"Very much." He took one large step, and he was inside the house. "You have not unpacked yet?" He pointed to the suitcases that were standing in the hallway.

"I had other things on my mind. I just did it tonight." I admitted. "Can I get you anything?" I wasn't quite sure how to act around him. I'm not sure I could still have feelings for someone after I endured torture for them. I would think I'd be awfully bitter, to put it nicely. I started toward the kitchen, but didn't turn away. "I still have some True Blood around if you want it?"

"No, thank you." He shook his head, advancing toward me as I stepped back.

"Okay." I hadn't realized how far I'd gone, and I was now bumping into the kitchen table. I smiled at him nervously. "I was just about to have dinner. I wasn't expecting company." _You're batting a thousand there, Sookie_, I thought to myself as I stood there.

Eric moved slowly, which made me nervous. The way he was looking at me didn't help. In Eric's case there was a fine line between lust and devastation, and I'm not sure where I fell on that line. Part of me hoped I would be straddling it, for lack of a better way to put it.

"There is something I have wanted to ask you for two weeks." Eric said when he was standing right in front of me.

"Um, okay." I was visibly shaking now, and I knew he could sense my fear. Vampires are pretty good at sensing emotions anyway, but the Bond really let him have it. "What did you want to know?" I tried to smile, but it didn't come out quite right.

"With all of the danger I have put you in, why would you try to risk your life for me?" Eric asked without much hesitation. It was obvious to me that he had given this quite a bit of thought over the last two weeks.

"Because you would do the same for me. You _have_ done the same for me." I reminded him.

"We have an arrangement, Sookie. You have become valuable to my business." He said in a calm and cool manner, and for a second I thought I might start to cry again.

"Is that the only reason?" I had to ask because I needed to know where I stood.

Getting involved with Eric was like getting involved with a ticking time bomb in a lot of ways. I might not know how much time I had before the bomb went off, but eventually, it would blow up in my face. I was scared that I had just a few seconds left before everything changed for the rest of my life. Whatever Eric said next, I knew that I would never see him the same way after that.

"No, it's not the only reason." Eric started to pace a little bit, giving me some room to breathe, which I was thankful for. I sat down at the table because I was afraid to keep standing.

"So then why?" I asked him.

"I asked you first." He retorted. He kept his eyes on me as he paced back and forth in my kitchen, and I got the sense that he knew the answer, but he wouldn't be the first one to say it.

"Because I love you, that's why." I blurted it out because I was tired of holding it in. I'd been thinking it for two weeks. It was just about all I could think about. I had promised myself that if I ever saw him again, I would tell him just that. Well, this was my chance. "I don't expect you to say it back to me, but it's how I feel."

Eric swooped down so that our faces where just centimeters apart. "En tusen ord vil ikke la så dypt inntrykk som én gjerning." He said to me. I waited for him to translate what he said. "A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed."

"So what does that mean, Eric? I don't know how you can even look at me after what I put you through." I felt sick to my stomach.

"I have seen much of the world, Sookie. I have seen humans do good things. I have seen them destroy each other. I have seen them be kind. I have seen them be evil. I have seen them be false or manipulative or brave or righteous. I have lived for a thousand years, and in that time, I have never encountered a human like you. You are truly one of a kind, Sookie Stackhouse." I got the feeling then that he might not be able to actually say the words, even if he wanted to. The important thing was that he showed it in the things he did. Quite frankly, even though he often got on my nerves in the process, he treated me like a queen. Sometimes I thought that _he_ was the mind reader in our relationship. He always seemed to know just what I needed to hear at any given moment.

"This is acceptable." I smiled at him, and his fangs lowered in a teasing sort of way. Assuming fangs can be lowered in such a fashion. I knew him well enough to know when it was for show, and when it was serious business. Right now, he wanted to play.

I leaned in closer to him, my eyes leaving his to look at his lips. They were the same shade of deep pink I remembered. I looked in his eyes for a second before moving in closer and biting his bottom lip and tugging on it gently. It was almost like a puppy playing with a new chew toy, and he growled at me in response. I let go of his lip, and he kissed me. After that, I was like melting butter. He was still kissing me when he tore the front of my shirt open, and pulled it down my arms. He was on his knees in front of me planning his attack. His next move was to kiss my neck and shoulder while he tore off my bra, and flung that to the other side of the room. He wrapped his arms around me, and picked me up as he stood. Oh those arms...I could live in them.

He put me down on the counter, of all places, and before I could do it, he pulled my hair from its ponytail. He dropped the piece of elastic on the floor, and shook my hair the way I always did when I took it down. He tilted my head, moving it back when I tried to kiss him again. His hands settled on the back of my head, and coolness of his skin was a nice contrast to the way my own body heat was starting to rise. I picked up my legs and wrapped them around him, pulling him closer to me. After just staring at me for a minute, I tugged his shirt up and over his head before depositing it on the floor somewhere near my ruined t-shirt. It was then that I noticed tiny marks all over his chest, and I wondered if that was leftovers from the silver dust Sophie Anne had thrown at him. If he'd been left in a dungeon for days chained in silver, starved and smeared with silver dust and garlic, he might not be completely healed just yet. Still, I wondered if maybe this sort of damage could be permanent. Not to mention since it was dust, there was the possibility he had inhaled some of it too. Vampires don't inhale often, but on the chance that he did, it would have hurt like hell.

Two weeks away from him felt like an eternity, and I suddenly felt stupid for thinking he was dead. Of course Sophie Anne was capable of killing him, but it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to do that. As vampires go, there are few as strong, or old, as Eric. He's a survivor. I should know better. I put my hands on his sides so I could feel the rippling of his rib cage, and the crease of his hips when I lowered my hands. I kissed his neck and chest, running my fingers up and down his back before letting my hands sink into the back of his jeans. Oh that butt...I couldn't hold back a happy sigh. In that moment, I'm not sure which of us was hungrier. Eric had been right; it wasn't about the words we said as much as it was about the things we did. And I was completely prepared to let him devour me.

He gathered me up off the counter once again, and when he did, he fangs grazed my collarbone. It was the most delicious feeling. It never ceased to amaze me how he could just carry me around all day like I was nothing more than a doll. I was too busy kissing him to notice where he was taking me, and without warning, I was dropped on my bed. I bounced happily on the old mattress, and reached for the zipper on his pants. I looked up at him as I unzipped his pants, and he bent to kiss me as they fell to the floor. I pulled him on top of me, and started grinding against him as he kissed me. He pushed my hair away from my face and chest, going back to work on my neck. I held my breath, thinking he might bite me, but he didn't. Not yet, at least.

I wiggled out of my shorts, and dropped them on the floor beside the bed. I wasn't prepared for it when Eric bent down and tore away my panties with his teeth, and the power of such a move paralyzed me for just a second. He whipped his head to side, sending them flying across the room. And then his hand was moving my legs around, getting them just where he wanted them. His fangs scraped against my pelvic bone that was so prominent when I was flat on my back, his hand moving between my legs rhythmically and smoothly. My hips rose when he touched me, and before long, I felt those familiar waves of warmth circulating from the center of my body until they were radiating from my fingertips. Still, he hadn't bit me.

I think it caught him by surprise when I pushed him onto his back, and climbed on top of him. He ran his cool hands up and down my tan thighs, sending shivers down my spine, before his hands settled on my hips. He picked me up ever so slightly, and then set me down so I was impaled on him. I moaned loudly, knowing that this was precisely what I had been missing for the last two weeks. I moved up and down slowly, his hands going up my back and tugging gently on my hair. My head rolled back, and my neck was completely exposed to him. I pulled my head away, and lowered the top half of my body so that my throat was almost parallel to his, just inches away from his mouth. And when he nipped at me, I smiled and moved away.

There I was, challenging him again, and I know better, but that doesn't stop me from trying again. I think that's part of the turn-on, if I'm to be completely honest. But I wasn't going to win that night either. We rolled over so that he was on top of me. He grabbed my hands, and held pinned them over my head with ease. He smiled at me in that way he did when he had something devious planned. He adjusted the balance of our bodies so that my hips were raised pretty high off the bed, and then he was thrusting into me hard. My entire body shook with each thrust. I forgot how big he was in just about every sense of the word. He held me up by my lower back with one hand, using the other to keep my arms pinned above my head. If there was any doubt over who the alpha dog was in our relationship, he was attempting to erase that now.

I grunted and groaned, wrapping my legs around him so that my heels were digging into that killer butt of his. And again I could feel that warmth starting at the center of my body. He let go of my arms so that he could use both hands to hold me up instead of just one. His grasp was tight on my hips, moving them as he pleased. I found that my hands gravitated to where his were, and I was scratching at his wrists and the backs of his hands. He set me down on the bed before picking up my right leg and moving it around his body so that it was pressed against my left leg. What a jolt that was to my spine, believe me, and it felt even better when he laid down next to me, turning my entire body so that I was on my left side. His hand snaked around so it was back between my legs. The pace of our bodies slowed, but it never stopped.

I reached to cradle his head toward me, and I looked back to kiss him some more. There are lots of things about Eric that I missed for the last two weeks, but I think I might have missed his lips the most. He does magic with them, let me tell you. And then the most remarkable thing happened; I had one of those flashes I get from a vampire every once in a while. Sometimes I just see a color or a picture of what they're thinking about. With Eric, in that moment, I only got one word. It was a four letter word, and not one of the dirty ones. I pulled away from him then and turned to face him. I just wanted to look at him for a change.

When he tried to turn me back, I stopped him. "No." I shook my head defiantly. "I want to see you." I kissed the line of his jaw, and let him reposition me so that we were facing one another. _God, he's so sexy_, I thought to myself as his body moved against mine. It occurred to me yet again that he hadn't bit me. So far, we hadn't had sex once without him biting me at some point.

I stayed true to my word, and I didn't take my eyes away from his, even when I kissed him. I'd never kissed anyone with my eyes open before, and at first, it really sort of freaked me out, but I just couldn't stop looking at him. I think a part of me was afraid that if I wasn't looking at him he would somehow disappear for good, and just the thought of losing him again was enough to break my heart. I licked his fangs as I pressed my chest to his. And again, there was that flash. That same four letter word shining bright in his mind, and it brought tears to my eyes.

"Why are you crying, lover?" He asked me.

"Because I love you." I told him, and kissed him again.

His arms wrapped around me as he sat up with me on top of him. My body curled around his, and he was stroking my hair when every muscle in my body began to contract and relax. I breathed against his ear, thinking that this had to be it, he was going to feed on me now, but he didn't. And he didn't intensify his pace the way he did when he was about to finish. It was slow and steady all the way to the finish line. When it was over, I just held onto him, crying quietly against his neck.

I knew, without a doubt in that moment, that he didn't have to say he loved me in order for me to know. It was there in his eyes, and that's all that mattered to me. "I missed you." I confessed to him, and he wiped away the tears on my face. "Can we please promise each other to stay out of trouble for just a little while?" I smiled at him.

"It's a pie crust promise, sweetheart, and I don't make those." Eric was still playing with my hair. "But I missed you too."

"I wish we could stay like this forever. Just you and me in this room. Nothing in the outside world to drag us out and almost get us killed." I was reluctant to let him go.

"There _is_ an upside to almost getting killed." He pushed his forehead to mind.

"Oh yeah?" I snorted.

"You are always so anxious to thank me." He teased me, letting his hands slide down to my butt, and squeezing it gently. "Has anyone ever told you how nice this is?" He squeezed a little harder.

"Funny...I was just thinking the same thing about you." I smiled, and kissed him some more.

o.O.o.O.o

At first, I loved the quiet that surrounded me when I was around Eric. Everything seemed to be going back to business as usual. I managed to dig up my cheerful disposition, and I just felt better about everything. I was seeing Eric everyday. On the nights that I had to work late he would come to Merlotte's (even though Sam wasn't terribly happy about it) to see me, even if it was just for a few minutes. Then he would wait for me at my house. He had taken to resting in the hidey-hole in my old bedroom closet. He didn't stay at my house every night, but at least twice a week. I would drive to Shreveport on my nights off and spend time at Fangtasia with him. I tried not to sit too close to him because the fangbangers and tourists who came into the bar didn't want to see a thousand year old Viking vampire with a girlfriend. They wanted to believe they actually had a chance of bedding him, or at least getting him to feed on them.

Humans have it all backwards when it comes to that, by the way. Humans naively think that it is a privilege to a vampire if you allow him or her to feed on you. Humans get so arrogant and uppity about it when they get rejected. To my knowledge, Eric hasn't fed on another human since the Black & Red Ball. Not that I think he would lie about it, but if he has, he's done a really good job of keeping me in the dark. Chow has even seemed to take a bit more of a shine to me, although that could have something to do with Eric noticing the cold shoulder I was getting from him all the time. Whatever the reason, I'm just glad that I don't feel so weird about being there anymore. It'll never have the comfort level that Merlotte's does, but it's not so bad.

Life just settled into a routine again. So I probably should have been expecting it when there was an unexpected guest knocking at my door late one Tuesday evening. It was my night off, and Eric and I had planned on just staying at my house. He was determined to show me the scene in Casablanca he'd said he was in, and I was in the mood for a little Bogey anyway. I was making popcorn when the car pulled up. Eric heard it before I did. He could hear shoes crunching on gravel and hands grabbing for the railing on the porch.

"Are you expecting anyone?" He asked me.

"No, why?" I asked just as someone knocked at my front door.

"Wait here." He said suspiciously. But of course, I didn't follow his instructions because that would have been no fun. I stayed behind him as we walked to the door. We weren't even there before he knew who it was. "Sophie Anne?" He mumbled out loud.

I grabbed his arm, stopping him. "I do _not_ want her in my house."

"So don't invite her in," Eric shrugged. "But I may have to go with her."

"Eric, no. She almost killed you." I argued, even though it was pointless. If he had to go, he would go, no questions asked.

"You're thinking like a human again." He smiled at me with amusement, as if I could think any other way. He kissed the top of my head, and then went to the door. "Good evening, your majesty."

"Where is your human? I need to come inside."

"You can come in when hell freezes over." I glared at her from behind Eric.

Sophie Anne shot me the coldest smile I've ever seen. "Sheriff, it would probably serve you well to remind your human that her mouth has a tendency to write checks your body can't cash." She said this without looking away from me.

"And it would do you good to get off my property before-"

"Sookie, enough." Eric's head whipped around. I was quiet after that. "What brings you all the way to Bon Temps, your Majesty?" Eric turned back to Sophie Anne.

"Constance Leiberman is dead." She said without any theatrics or empathy in her voice.

"Interesting." Eric said, although I felt more nervous about this than intrigued. I didn't know much about Constance Leiberman other than she was sheriff of Area 2, and she was 500 years old. She'd been sheriff of that area for almost twenty years. "How did she die?"

Sophie Anne's face changed again, going from a blank slate to a Cheshire Cat grin. "Vampire attack."

"She was attacked by one of her own?" Eric was surprised by this, and it takes an awful lot to surprise Eric.

"Not quite." Sophie Anne cleared her throat. "I'm not sure we should discuss this further in front of your human."

"She can be trusted, your Majesty." Eric was vouching for me, and that's a very big deal considering the punishment he had already suffered.

"I won't discuss it on the porch, so either she invites me in, or you come with me. It's up to her." Sophie Anne looked at me once again.

Since I didn't want Eric to leave, I relented. I could always sending her sadist ass out anytime I damn well wanted to. "Would you like to come in, your Majesty?" I said it through a clenched jaw, hoping she would get the point of how unhappy I was to be letting her into my home.

This is where vampires get confused. _They_ naively think that humans are impressed to hear that they are in positions of authority. I didn't care who she was. She was evil, and I hated the idea of any part of her touching my Gran's house. Thankfully, I knew precisely where every single piece of silver in this house was hidden away, and I could find it in a heartbeat if I had to. The thought of staking her with a silver candlestick made me much happier than it should have, I will admit that.

Eric closed the door behind Sophie Anne, and I led all three of us into the dining room. "Would you care for something to drink?" I asked Sophie Anne begrudgingly.

"I'll take a bottle of O Negative if you have it." She didn't bother looking at me, and I wanted to slap her. "You _are_ a waitress, aren't you?" She asked smugly.

"Eric, would you like anything?" I ignored her as best I could.

"I'll eat later." He looked over at me, trying to soothe me a little bit with the softness in his eyes. It was a softness he didn't generally share with anyone other than me. In fact, the only person who might be at all privy to that part of Eric was Pam. "So, your Majesty, what can I do for you?"

"You've heard of Asanbosam?" I overheard Sophie Anne ask while I warmed up her bottle of blood.

"Of course."

"Then you know how dangerous he is."

"I have heard, though I have not come across his path."

"Of course you haven't. If you had, you'd be dead."

The microwave dinged, and I took removed the bottle from it. I stood there for a second, just listening to them talk. They were speaking quietly, but not so quietly that I couldn't hear them. I had no idea who this Asanbosam character was, but he didn't sound like someone I wanted to meet. He was a vampire who attacked from the trees with iron teeth. He had iron hooks where his hands and feet should be. He was older than Godric had been, although there was no way of knowing, for sure, just how old he really was. He'd fed on humans and animals for most of his life, but now he had moved on to feeding on his own kind. Most vampires don't do that. Why? I don't know. It's just a practice that is looked down on, I suppose. But even on the off chance that a vampire _does_ feed on another vampire, he or she certainly wouldn't drain the vampire they were feeding on. That wasn't the case with Asanbosam.

"He drained four vampires in New York, starting with their Area 19 sheriff. He made an attempt on the King of Ohio but thankfully, he didn't get far enough along before the King's staff was able to stop him. They were not, however, able to capture him. He is dangerous. He is going after every vampire he can get his hands on." Sophie Anne explained after I set down her bottle of blood on the table.

"So what does this have to do with me?" Eric asked.

"You have some of the best trackers in your area. Pam, specifically, is exceptional at tracking." Sophie Anne said, and Eric actually laughed. Sophie Anne didn't see the humor in it. "We also have reason to believe that humans are harboring him."

Now this came as a real surprise to me. Most humans were skittish enough around your average vampire. What the hell kind of humans would be harboring a vampire with iron teeth and hooks for his hands and feet? I shuddered at the thought of it. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, Sophie laid it all on the line.

"He must be stopped, Eric, and we need your human's help to do that." Sophie Anne didn't look at me.

"She's sitting right here, your Majesty. Ask her yourself." That was a ballsy thing to say to his boss, but she looked at me with piercing blue eyes. She was trying to glamour me.

Now it was my turn to laugh. "Are you trying to glamour me?" I looked to Eric, who kept his face expressionless. "That doesn't work on me, missy."

"It doesn't?" Sophie Anne looked shocked.

"No, it doesn't. Thankfully my ability cancels out yours. So if you want something from me, you're going to have to ask me for it like a decent person." It was also my turn to be smug.

"Our kind is in danger, Sookie. We are all at risk here, and if we do not stop Asanbosam, it could be the end of us. We need your help to track this vampire." She said to me in as polite a voice as she could muster.

I looked to Eric for some sort of hint as to what my reaction should be, but I could tell this one was all on me. I could back off and save myself a world of trouble, pain and frustration, but that could mean Eric would be at risk. Hell's bells he would be at risk no matter what I did because I knew he would never let me travel alone. I sighed, not wanting to join forces with a woman who had nearly killed my boyfriend (I was calling him that now, even if it was just in my own head.), but I didn't feel as if I had any other choice.

"If I do this, I'm going to need a couple of things." I told her. Eric remained eerily silent.

"What are you terms?" Sophie Anne asked, eager to negotiate.

"I travel with Eric and Pam at all times. If, at any point, I decide I want out I am to be released without question. The same goes for Eric." I knew he would never want out, but I had to throw that in there all the same. "I will need you to compensate me for my time away from work, since I don't have the option of glamouring unsuspecting humans into giving me money." I could tell that comment was hitting a little below the belt, but I didn't care. Smearing my boyfriend with silver dust and garlic wasn't exactly nice either.

"Anything else?" Sophie Anne asked.

I looked at Eric for a long moment before saying, "Once we find this vampire you are so desperate to find, I never have to see your face again."

"This is acceptable." She said, and I wondered if this was part of the Vampire Handbook, or something.

"Good. Type it up, and I'll sign it."

"Excuse me? We don't do contracts." She laughed at me. "That is not the vampire way."

"Well, I'm not a vampire, and humans sign contracts. That's the deal. Take it or leave it." I stared hard at Sophie Anne.

She looked at Eric with admiration in her eyes. "She's a tough one, Sheriff."

"You aren't telling me anything I don't already know." He answered her.

"Fine. I will have them drawn up tonight and messengered to you first thing in the morning. We will leave Friday at sundown." Sophie Anne stood to go without drinking a drop of her True Blood. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you."

"Wish I could say the same." I went to the front door and opened it for her. "Your invitation as been rescinded." I watched with glee as her body was propelled out of my house, and I waved at her as I slammed the door in her face.

Eric was behind me before I turned around, his fangs already exposed. "Have I told you lately how sexy you are when you're angry?"

"No," I grabbed the front of top of his jeans, pulling him closer to me. "But I would much rather you show me."

o.O.o.O.o

True to her word, Sophie Anne messengered the contracts over the following morning. I wanted to have a lawyer look them over, but it wasn't like I could just call Sid Matt Lancaster and ask him to look them over. Thankfully, Eric had a vampire lawyer on retainer who could take a look at them for me as soon as the sun set. I worked the lunch shift that day, and unfortunately, Sam was in a mood. I decided it wasn't the right time to tell him I needed to take time off again, but I would have to tell him, since I was supposed to be leaving in two days. I arrived home from work that day to find a package waiting for me on my porch. I checked it to make sure it wasn't ticking before opening it.

It was that scandalous red dress that Eric had tried to get me to wear to the Black and Red Ball. There was a card inside, asking me to wear that dress and meet him at the movie theater he owned in Shreveport promptly at nine. A car would be coming to pick me up at 8:15. I had no idea what he was planning, but I figured it couldn't hurt to play along. _This could very well be the last fun night out we have for a long time_, I told myself as I got in the shower. I didn't have much time to get ready. I got home from work later than I'd thought I would. Yet, I was ready to go by the time the car showed up at exactly 8:15. There were a dozen roses waiting for me in the backseat of the car. They smelled beautifully, and the pedals felt like velvet and silk.

It was almost impossible _not_ to feel naked in that dress, and there was no way I could have worn it to the ball. It didn't take long to reach the theater. I collected my purse and roses when the door of the car opened. The marquee outside the theater was all lit up. The movie that was supposedly playing was _An Affair To Remember_, which is one of my favorites. I walked up to the theater door, and it opened before I could knock. There was no one at the box office, and the lobby was empty. I wasn't terribly surprised by that. I got the feeling that the theater didn't do a whole lot of business with the general public. There was, however, a small band set up in the lobby.

And then, out of nowhere, Eric appeared. He was wearing the same suit he'd worn to the ball, or so it seemed to me. "Right on time."

"What's going on here, Eric?" I asked with a smile.

"First of all, you look good enough to eat." He kissed my hand.

"Play your cards right, and you just might find out if you're right." I shrugged playfully, making him smile in return.

"Well, I figured that since we're about to abandon our promise not to put our lives at risk, I thought we deserved one last night of fun." He explained to me.

"I was hoping you'd say that." I dropped the roses and my purse on a nearby bench in the lobby. Eric signaled the band, and they began to play a beautiful piece of music that sounded vaguely familiar. It took me a minute to figure out it was that song I'd heard in the car with Eric on our way to New Orleans.

"Miss Stackhouse, would you care to dance?" He asked me.

"I'd be delighted." I took his hand, and walked with him to the middle of the lobby. We moved around slowly, and even without vocals, the music was beautiful. It didn't sound exactly the same as it had on the CD, but it was still as powerful. The emotion was there, and that was all that mattered. "You know, it really is a shame that you're going to turn this place into a night club."

"I may hold off on that a while longer. I like the way your face lights up when you are here." He confessed to me.

He was getting much better with the sweet talk. I enjoyed the humanity in him when he let it out. He'd been saving it for a thousand years, so sometimes it was on overload, but I enjoyed every second of it. "So um, you never had an affair of your own to remember with Debra Kerr, did you?" I asked out of curiosity.

"No," He smiled at me. "But did you know that Marilyn Monroe was party fairy?"

"Really? I had no idea that fairies were real." I was genuinely surprised by this information, even after all the things I'd learned in the last month.

"Fairies have the most amazing taste to their blood. It is like heroine for vampires." He explained to me.

"Interesting." I didn't mean to mock him at all when I said that either. I was genuinely intrigued by that notion.

When the dance ended Eric excused the band. They quietly packed up their instruments and music before leaving the theater via a back exit. "The movie is about to begin." Eric held out his arm to me. We had just turned to go inside when Pam came bursting through the doors.

Blood was running down her neck, and she was making the most horrible choking noise. Eric let go of me instantly to tend to his injured child. I stood there for a minute, not sure of what to do. Blood was just pouring from Pam's throat, and it was staining the marble floor of the theater as I stood there helplessly. What little color she had drained from her face, and I was terrified she was going to die right there in front of us. Losing Godric had been hard enough on Eric. I didn't think he could handle losing his child as well.

"Sookie, she needs blood. Go into my room and get it." Eric was trying to put pressure on Pam's wound. "Pam, what did this to you?"

She was too busy choking on her blood to respond. I ran to Eric's office to get as many bottles of True Blood as I could carry, but I worried that they would all just end up on the marble floor. I dashed back to them as quickly as I could, and Eric ripped the caps off the bottles with fury in his eyes. His fangs had extended, and he was in a dangerous mood. I knew I was safe, but God help any other human who happened to walk into the theater right now, or just cross his path in any capacity. Eric forced her to drink bottle after bottle of the blood, even though it wasn't warm. After about eight bottles, the wound started to close on her throat. I hadn't realized there was another one in her ribs, just under her heart. Whatever had attacked her had come awfully close to staking her.

I went for more bottles of blood, knowing she would need as much as she could get. The bottom of the dress I was wearing was ruined, but I didn't care much about that. I was more concerned about Pam, and Eric, by extension. Pam really wasn't a bad person, and I was smart enough to know that if I was going to have Eric in my life, that meant tolerating Pam being there as well. Eric had made a smart decision when he chose to be her Maker.

"Chow...is...dead..." Pam was clutching at her throat and having a hard time speaking. "Fangtasia..." She muttered and chugged down another bottle of blood.

"What did this to you, Pam?" Eric demanded a second time.

I don't recall ever seeing Pam scared before, but she was now. For centuries she had been sure of herself, and if she ever did feel weak, she always had Eric standing right behind her, ready to jump into the fight. But this time, whatever it was she had gone up against was much bigger and badder than she could have imagined. She was still shaking from the attack, and I was worried that whatever it was that got her would always have some sort of hold on her.

"Asanbosam." She finally choked out.

* * *

**I had a sequel planned for this story, but when my laptop crashed last year, I lost the outline I had for it. Whether or not I will ever mentally recover it, much less write it, remains to be seen. But this concludes "All Tomorrow's Parties." Oh, and before you ask, no, Pam does NOT die as a result of the attack. Thanks for reading!**


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